Owen Messere: A Chess Prodigy Turned Poker Wizard
Faraz Jaka and Owen Messere are all square in the early goings of their heads-up duel, with each player trading pots.
Recently, Jaka took in a 160,000 pot after his turn bet of 80,000 on the 5?5?9?6? board folded out Messere, the following hand, Jaka raised to 20,000 from the button before folding to Messere's 88,000 three-bet.
Many poker fans will be familiar with Jaka, a notable name in the poker world but many would be forgiven if they hadn't heard of Messere before, so here's some info about the upcoming star.
A poker player known for his expertise in heads-up cash games, Messere was originally a young chess prodigy competing internationally. He transitioned to poker, where he quickly climbed from micro stakes to high-stakes games, playing up to $5,000 No-Limit Heads-Up (5KNL HU). His screen name, "pr0digy," reflects his swift rise in the poker world.
One memorable moment in Messere's career was during a heads-up match against poker star Doug Polk at The Lodge. In a hand where Owen mistakenly thought he had a flush, Polk kindly returned his share of the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,200,000
-120,000
|
-120,000 |
|
1,200,000
120,000
|
120,000 |
|
||