Featured Player - Derick Hernandez

Age

35 years old

When did you start playing?

I started playing poker December 1999. I know this because I started playing online and they have the date when you registered to them. That’s the first time I played holdem.

Where do you usually play (live and online)?
Live I play at The Metro. Online I play Pokerstars and Fulltilt poker.

What stakes do you usually play (live and online)?
Live I play as much as 500-1k. Online now a days I prefer tounaments as much as 1k buyin.

Preference: Online or Live poker? (Optional question, Why?)
Of course live games but I wanna play online in between those games. I think I play much better live but online gives me a lot more convenience and rake is much lesser and you don’t have to give tips.

Preference: Cash games or Tournament? (Optional question, Why?)
Tournaments. When I win a tournament it feel like I’ve accomplished something aside from winning money. You don’t get that on cash games.

What are the biggest tournaments you've entered and what place did you finish?
Well the biggest was the last main event of the WSOP. The field was almost 7k players. The buyin was 10k usd. And I finished 700+. Didn’t made the money though. Money was 666 players.

In your opinion, who's the best international player and why?
I don’t watch a lot of high stakes poker on tv anymore but I always liked Phil Ivey and Gus Hansen.

In your opinion, who's the best local player and why?
Me. Well aside from me Kent del rosario and Franco Mabanta I think are among the best on cash games. On tournaments I would say Niel Arce. Online poker I would say Ronnel Sto Thomas but for some reason he is a fish on live games.

Fearless forecast: Who among the Filipino players will last the longest in this year's APPT Manila ?
Me.

What does it take for a good player to become a great player?
A great player learns from everyone. A good player thinks he is already good on his own.

Walk us through what was going through your mind when you busted out Phil Gordon in this year's WSOP Main Event.
Wow! I busted Phil with only pokets 4’s hehe isn’t that amazing! Everyone on my table was in awe with that single hand. Seriously because everyone were playing so tight and both of didn’t hit anything on the board and both of us have good stacks.

What would you change in the way Filipino poker players play?

If I could change anything it’s the game itself. I think poker would be more successful if the game is limit holdem instead of no limit holdem. The trend now a days is no limit but limit is more fun and have less seriousness in it coz u don’t have to lose your whole stack in one hand.

If you go to Commerce Casino in LA you would see more limit games than no limit games. That’s why it is running good up to this day coz of limit games.