By David Nagel
LOOKING BACK TO OCTOBER 31, 2012
From the poker tables of Tabcorp Park in Melton to the centre wicket at the Kooweerup Recreation Reserve, Shane Dole has proven he is the man to turn to when the chips are down.
Dole hit the jackpot twice in six remarkable days, last Sunday defeating 425 qualifiers to become the Victorian Poker Champion and then backed that up with a magnificent century to lead the side he captains, Kooweerup, to an impregnable position against arch-rivals Cardinia in West Gippsland premier division cricket on Saturday.
Dole, 34, has been one of the WGCA’s elite players for many years but is still coming to terms with his poker success, where he upped the ante to win $4000 cash and a seat worth $1200 to Main Event III at Crown Casino in February.
Main Event III carries an overall purse of $500,000 with the winner guaranteed to walk away with a cool $100,000 in cold hard cash.
“It’s awesome, unbelievable, I was driving home from Melton just shaking my head, I couldn’t believe what had just happened,” Dole said on Monday.
“A good mate of mine from Leongatha is right into it and he said I should give it a go, which I did, and about six months ago I started taking it a little more seriously during the (cricket) off-season.”
‘Taking it more seriously’ involved joining a local venue, the Korumburra Hotel for Dole, and qualifying for the state title by accumulating points over a three-month period.
He topped the list during the Sunday sessions at Korumburra, earning a crack at the best from around the state.
Despite his win…things didn’t always run smoothly.
“I was down and out plenty of times,” he said.
“With about 60 players to go I was down to my last handful of blinds but won a pot of about $85,000 that kept me going. From there I built my stack to a point where I could wait for the good hands.
“The top 32 get paid so it was good to get to that stage with a good stack of chips.”
Dole entered the final table of 10 with the second biggest stack, $1,075,000 in chips, and achieved more than he ever imagined when he made the top eight and a guaranteed seat at Main Event III.
From there he progressed to a heads-up contest with the Globe Hotel’s Mick Lewis and, after six hands became the new Victorian Poker Champion.
Australian Poker League (APL) franchisee for Victoria Country Gippsland (VCG), David England, said Dole was a natural.
“He’s learnt a lot in such a short time,” England said.
“He’s got a great poker face and is very disciplined, he’s a very good quality player.”
“To win that event, after 13 hours of play, shows he has the discipline to be a very good poker player.”
