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ZeeJustin dishes on WSOP, Internet play

May 10, 2008

Since turning 21, former online phenom Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo has made 12 major final tables and taken home over $1,162,000 in tournament winnings. Among those players who haven’t won a major live tournament, he’s certainly one of the most consistent high finishers on the tournament circuit today.

PokerListings spoke with Bonomo by phone this week about making the switch from online to live tournaments, the WSOP, and the best young players we’ll be seeing this year.

Making the transition

Bonomo says that the transition to the live game from online has been an easy one. “It’s the same game,” he says. “I think online is a much better teaching tool in terms of the fundamentals and math, because you see so many more hands per hour. You have a larger sample size and you just learn so much quicker.

“There is also the psychological side of playing live, things like tells and not getting nervous. For me, I’ve been playing competitive Magic since I was 12 or 13, so a lot of my skills carry over from that.”

But do all successful online players find the shift to live poker, the slower cousin of the online game, as effortless as Bonomo has?

“I think any of the most successful online players will find it just as easy, especially cash-game players,” he says. “Some tournament players might run into problems just because they’re used to playing with shorter stack sizes, and that situation doesn’t come up as much live.

“Basically, anyone that plays a variety of games online and especially cash games will transfer over really well.”

Who’s next?

The last three years have seen the “youngest bracelet winner” mantle change hands annually, with Eric Froehlich, Jeff Madsen, and Bonomo’s 2007 WSOP housemate Steve “MrSmokey1″ Billirakis all taking their turns at the top. Billirakis’ record might not be broken this year, given that he was only 21 years and 11 days old at the time of his win, but Bonomo says he wouldn’t be surprised to see a few new players sporting some bling.

ZeeJustin dishes on WSOP, Internet play

Rising stars include Tom “durrrr” Dwan.

pokerlistings.com

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