Justin Liberto has strong run at World Series of Poker, ranked No. 24 in Global Poker Index – Baltimore Sun

It took earning $30,000 over three days for Justin Liberto to convince his parents he could make a career out of playing poker. It took him 27 minutes to solidify his stake in the card-playing community.

Growing up, cards were always on the table in the Liberto household.

First, it was pinochle, a trick-taking, ace-10 game requiring two to four players. Liberto was a first grader holding his own against the adults. When they graduated to the slightly more complicated game pitch, the then-fourth grader was handily dismantling the entire family.

The Fallston native and John Carroll graduate has since enjoyed a decadelong run in the World Series of Poker and its traveling circuit, collecting four rings and a bracelet recognizing championships, and nearly $3 million. Liberto is ranked No. 24 in the latest Global Poker Index.

In a moment of reflection, Liberto said with a laugh, I sometimes can envision 16-year-old Justin would be like, What the heck?

Well, playing cards were the first thing Liberto wholly applied himself to.

When Chris Moneymaker, an aptly named accountant and amateur player, revolutionized the sport by turning a $39 entry to an online poker tournament into $2.5 million by winning the 2003 WSOP main event, every 15-year-old was playing poker in their friends basement, Liberto said. Thats basically how I started out.

Liberto refined his chops as a high schooler crowding an at-home felt table on $25 buy-ins, bankrolled by jobs at Dons Flowers and Produce on Bel Air Road, then barbacking at Looneys Pub. He experimented with bluffing, raising and analyzing hands on the fly.

Then came his first big score.

Liberto was a 19-year-old junior at Virginia Tech grinding away at the online site PokerStars when he hit for $8,000. A few weeks later, after seeing the check, his parents reluctantly agreed to let him compete in a tournament over winter break. Liberto drove up to Verona, New York, to the Turning Stone Casino where the minimum age to gamble is 18 as its on a Native American reservation.

They didnt love me going up there, essentially [saying], Wait until youre 21, Liberto said. Regardless, they let me go and the first tournament I played, I win $10,000. I was supposed to come home the next day but theyre like, Alright, you can stay another day. I won the next one for $12,000.

In that span, I made $30,000, Liberto said. [My parents] were like, Oh, thats about what Virginia Tech costs for a year. From that point, they kind of understood that maybe it wasnt a pipe dream.

Four months after graduation, Liberto was practically down to a chip and a chair. He worked a sales job for the next 15 months to save up and give poker another go. He moved to Pennsylvania with his wife to be closer to a casino.

Libertos first WSOP appearance was in 2013. The World Series consists of dozens of events of various stakes. More than 6,000 people entered the $1,500 No-Limit Holdem Millionaire Maker. Against what was then the largest one-day starting field in tournament history, Liberto finished fourth. His cash prize? A whopping $400,000. I was like, Whoa, OK. Its on now, he said.

Fast-forward to the 2015 WSOP and the $3,000 Six-handed No-limit Hold em event.

Among the field of 1,043 players, Liberto kept relatively under the radar, cruising to the events final table. It came down to him and Seamus Cahill, who held a commanding lead. Play was halted having run late into night three when the Irishman proposed cutting a deal a way to take some money off the table and ensure both a hefty purse.

Liberto, down in chips nearly 2-to-1, mulled over the offer with his best friend. He considered it until Cahill tried to strong-arm the negotiations, refusing to budge on his settling number.

As if he were Matt Damon in the 1998 movie Rounders, Liberto, playing the part of Mike McDermott, looked at his friend with a grin. Lets dance, he said.

[From the archive: North Laurel native Greg Merson wins World Series of Poker Main Event worth $8.5 million]

Liberto estimated the comeback needed to secure his first bracelet might normally have taken close to four hours. Twenty-seven minutes later, he pocketed the $640,711 first-place prize and more importantly, could wrap his wrist with the poker equivalent of a Lombardi Trophy.

Poker is one of those games where you can get in lulls to the point where youre like, Do I even know what Im doing? Liberto said. I was definitely in a very confident zone that day. If you do your work away from the table, you can put yourself in a good position.

Fallston native Justin Liberto has established himself as one of the world's top poker players. He's won titles at the World Series of Poker and on the World Poker Tour and is ranked No. 24 in the Global Poker Index. (Drew Amato/World Poker Tour)

The WSOP is roughly six weeks of non-stop poker. Its not for the faint of heart.

You could get in a tournament at noon, be out by 3 p.m. and jump right back into the next tournament that starts at 4, Liberto said. Basically, every day is about 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Probably half of my years work comes in those six weeks. Its a grind. But I love being out there. I still have the passion for it.

For Liberto, the mental gymnastics doesnt stop when its time to color up. Its back to the hotel room to re-run hands either through an online website or with a friend. Its studying scenarios and opponents.

That might go until 3 a.m.

Christian Harder, a 35-year-old Annapolis native who has endured the peaks and valleys of pokers ultramarathon since he was 21, lauded Libertos table presence. Some players command the cushioned chair, he said, intimidating their opponents, while others sit quietly composed.

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Justin walks a fine line, Harder explained. He has such a confident aura about him but his play is the intimidating part. No one wants to play Justin because he plays a very aggressive style. In a way its annoying to play against, putting you in tough situations. ... Its the unexpected raises and putting you in difficult spots.

His success has carried over beyond the World Series. Hes won four events on the WSOP circuit, each coming with a prized ring. Three of the victories came during stops at Horseshoe Casino Baltimore. Hes also competed on the World Poker Tour, winning one event, making two final tables and cashing in 27 events.

Liberto recently wrapped up his 10th WSOP appearance, cashing on 12 events, including three top-10 finishes.

His top payouts were a second-place finish to David Baker in the $1,500 Razz event in early June, collecting $94,558. In mid-July at the tail-end of the series, he finished fourth in the $10,000 Six-handed No-Limit Hold em Championship where, after calling a prominent bluff from the eventual top finisher, Liberto made out with $306,555.

Out of the thousands of players who take part in WSOP events, Liberto finished 64th in the Player of the Year standings, a point system that takes into account players finishes over all 95 events.

Most recently, he won the $10,000 No limit Hold em Deep stack event at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open on Aug. 1. His first-place prize was $257,000.

I always say I dont know a lot about almost anything but I know a lot about one thing, Liberto said. And thats poker.

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Justin Liberto has strong run at World Series of Poker, ranked No. 24 in Global Poker Index - Baltimore Sun