PA Showcase: MissTofu rakes in $237,000 at WSOP

About three miles south of the Las Vegas strip I sit down with Laurence Grondin at the house she has rented for about a month to participate in five events, including the Main Event, at the 2009 WSOP. Up until this point I knew Grondin only by her PokerInside screename “MissTofu”. Just a few days earlier Grondin made a serious run at the WSOP Event 36 - $2,000 NL Hold’em bracelet. She ended up finishing third and took home $237,537.

Event 36 was just one of the five events she came to Las Vegas, NV to compete in and the third place finish made it all worth it. As a fellow PokerInside member I wanted to speak with Grondin about the event, her poker experiences, and future goals. All poker players have a story, here is hers.

Grondin comes from Quebec, Canada and has only played poker for three years. After playing the in the 2008 WSOP Ladies Event she decided it was time to turn pro. Before poker Grondin studied criminology and worked at a juvenile detention center, it was then when she decided to deposit $25 at PokerStars and has been a rounder ever since. The part of her story that amazes me the most is that Grondin has never had to reload her bankroll! The $25 turned out to be a very solid investment.

Grondin’s story is every beginning poker players dream.  Deposit $25…play a little…build a bank roll…play in the WSOP…get rich! Sad to say this is not the case for most players and after speaking about her dedication and study it became clear why she is so good. She is a poker information sponge, especially in the beginning days. She works hard on improving weak spots, reading everything she can get her hands on, chats in poker learning forums, and plays a lot.

After building a small bankroll Grondin moved to FullTilt Poker and played in $25 sit and go’s  where she said she “learned a lot” and moved onto $.50 - $1.00 cash games. This is when she spoke to her friend, another PokerInside member, DJeepy. “DJeepy explained the reward system PokerInside offers for playing at BetMost Poker, and I am very happy I made the switch.” Grondin began playing very seriously at $1 - $2 tables on BetMost Poker and within one year Grondin had turned her $25 bankroll into $25,000. She began playing in some live games and even makes her way to Atlantic City to build her stack even more. Currently, Grondin plays nine tables for four hours per day at $2-$4, $3-$6, and $5-$10 No Limit online and plays in some live events as well as the five events she is playing this month and next at the WSOP.

During Event 36 Gondin was able to triple up her stack during the first two levels. “It was a very long day two. I was very focused on just continuing to build up my stack. I made a few very good bluffs and was happy to get some good action on good pocket pairs. I had KK and AA and the action really helped me to build.”

Grondin wasn’t even planning on playing in Event 36, but with some convincing from her friend, a fellow poker professional also from Quebec, she bought in.

In the end Grondin had top pair after the flop but was out matched by Lennaard’s two pair. The turn and river helped neither player and placed Grondin in third. “I was extremely exhausted during the final round. I also learned a lot playing in the final table. After I get some rest I want to work on getting better at shorthanded tables”.