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Sometimes it’s not always about the money. I know, I know, it usually is about the money. After all it’s what’s used to keep score as well as to pay the bills. But sometimes, very occasionally, a poker tournament means something more.

Throughout the Billionth Tournament Carnival on PokerStars we’ve been highlighting a few of the memorable moments Team PokerStars Pros have had during their careers, a full list of which you can find by scrolling to the bottom of this post.

Many of their observations might match your experiences. But while many have talked about things like big wins or memorable hands, some have talked about a different kind of meaningful victory. Not big scores necessarily, actually some are quite small in comparison, but memorable nonetheless as small wins that become something more.

“I loved it when I won my first online tournament,” said PokerStars SportStar Fatima Moreira de Melo, who has had a gold-medal winning career not short on success. “I think it was an $11 one and I ended up winning over $1K. It just felt like the biggest achievement and it gave me a huge boost to work on my game even more!”

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Fatima Moreira de Melo


Matthias de Meulder had similar things to say about his first five figure score on PokerStars, one that would lead him on to even greater things, not least a career as a Team Pro.

“It was an $11 rebuy tournament, and after chopping it I won something like $11K,” said De Meulder.” I had been playing for a year and was already taking poker seriously, but getting that big bankroll boost really changed things for me, kind of setting me on the path that has led to where I am now.”

But for proof that it’s not all about the money you need look no further than Marcin Horecki. The Team Pro has had plenty of success both live, on the European Poker Tour for example, and also in high stakes online competition. But he’s also not averse to the basic math of spinning small amounts of money by factors of hundreds.

“For me a great memory was winning a $4.40 pot-limit Omaha tournament during MicroMillions 3 that helped me win the Player of the Series,” said Horecki. “For that tiny buy-in I won a first prize that was more than $3,600. Then I also won a PCA package for getting Player of the Series.

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Marcin Horecki

“I played 89 of the 100 events that series, if you can believe it. Then I played 87 out of 100 events during another MicroMillions when I managed to win the Player of the Series a second time. I love playing those small buy-in events that give you a chance to win such big prizes.”

And so it’s not always about the money you win, perhaps more that you won it in the first place. Wise words if you’re still trying to recall your own favourite tournament memory. When you remember it let us know on our Twitter account: @PokerStarsBlog.

Previously:

Jan Heitmann: What is your most memorable PokerStars tourney?

Ivan Demidov: When he thought he could win them all

Team Pros pick out their favourite tournament memories

Bryan Huang: Life-changing money, life-changing conversation

Team Pros talk about their best live tournament memory

Sleeping and falling to victory


Stephen Bartley is a staff writer for the PokerStars Blog.

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