WSOPick: Joe Cada

photo: PokerStarsBlog.com

For a good bio, check out this good old-fashioned newspaper article about Joe Cada, the reigning poker hero of Metro Detroit … written before they knew he\’d be the one playing heads-up against Darvin Moon. It\’s been a wild ride, he says, since making the November Nine — one that ended with a $150k losing streak leading up to the big dance.

Here\’s an interview PokerStars did with \”the kid\” (now \”the comeback kid\” in Stars parlance) — who started his career as on all-American online pro at age 18 shortly before the start of this weekend\’s great-big sit-n-go:

Coulda told you all along he was gonna win it. (I know he hasn\’t yet, but still …) Looking back at some emails with The Poker Beat crew (we were tossing around the idea of an on-air prop-bet) … sure enough, Cada was the dude I picked! Joey Stapleton apparently saw something in \”the kid\”, too:

(Note: You don\’t see the other guys\’ picks because I mucked things up by showing mine to soon. I also thought Darvin Moon\’s name was \”Garvin\” at the time.)

From: Dan Michalski
Date: July 30, 2009 11:42:31 AM PDT
To: BJ Nemeth
Cc: John Caldwell, Scott Huff, Joe Stapleton, Gary Wise
Subject: i want in on the action

my early pick is Cada.

lol, ESPN analysts … i will bet so against Garvin Moon. two double-ups through him and he\’s dead. now factor in the TV nerve issue … mistakes likely.

cada knows what he\’s doing, and has enough chips relative to the blinds to make it happen.

if he doesn\’t get unlucky against a moon shithead-move early, he\’s in the final 3.

On Jul 30, 2009, at 12:06 PM, John Caldwell wrote:

ok. Everyone get me their bets by 5pm today.

bets should look like this.

$20 on Joe Cada
$40 on Jeff Shulman
$40 on Darvin Moon.

It should add up to 100. Whoever turns their 100 into the most money wins the whole pot. All bets must be in whole dollars. Don\’t give me $23.48 on Darvin Moon cause the math told you so.

Ship it.

I\’ll e-mail \’Insider\’ now.

J

From: Dan Michalski
Date: July 30, 2009 12:09:21 PM PDT
To: John Caldwell
Cc: BJ Nemeth, Scott Huff, Joe Stapleton, Gary Wise
Subject: Re: The Poker Beat, July 30 Topics for discussion

$33 Cada
$33 Ivey
$33 Buchman
$1 akenhead

(if we are not allowed 4 picks, please put that extra dollar on Ivey.)

On Thu, Jul 30, 2009 at 12:36 PM, BJ Nemeth wrote:

I already know Dan\’s picks, which gives me (and everyone else who hasn\’t submitted yet) a *huge* advantage. I could bet $35 on Ivey, $35 on Buchman, and $2 on Akenhead, and totally block Dan\’s action on three out of four of his picks. Then Caldwell could step in and bet $37 on Ivey and Buchman, and $3 on Akenhead, and block both of us. And the Insider could make it $40/$40/$5 to scoop those three players.

Remember, you\’re not betting to win a return on your bet — you have to pick the winner *and* have more money placed on him than anyone else in the pool. That\’s a very, very different betting strategy.

From: Dan Michalski
Date: July 30, 2009 2:50:53 PM PDT
To: Gary Wise
Cc: john, bjnemeth, scottbhuff, joeystapleton
Subject: Re: The Poker Beat: Rules Clarification

i still like my bets.

yee-haw!

On Aug 6, 2009, at 9:06 AM, Joe Stapleton wrote:

Here are my picks, but I\’ll find a way to work them into the Tight Laydown:

1) Joe Cada
2) Eric Buchman
3) Darvin Moon

If I were non-American, I could\’ve benefited greatly by putting money on Joe Cada with our good friends at Betfair