He’s the $10 million man. Instead of spending a week celebrating, relaxing, and settling into life as poker’s newest world champion, Jonathan Tamayo has faced cheating allegations and accusations of using solvers during the Main Event final table.

Tamayo has now addressed these concerns. In an interview with the award-winning podcast The Chip Race, he discussed the poker community’s worries and expressed his willingness to comply with any rule changes to prevent players from using solvers on the rail in the future.

The conversation delved into Tamayo’s career as a cash game grinder, his deep run in the 2009 WSOP Main Event, and his role in supporting his close friend Joe McKeehen at the 2015 WSOP Main Event final table, which McKeehen won.

However, the main focus was naturally on Tamayo’s $10,000,000 victory and the preparation that went into his run for the biggest title in poker.

Final table preparation

Preparation, according to Tamayo, was crucial the day before the Main Event final table. “You have to make a strategy executable,” Tamayo told podcast hosts Dara O’Kearney and David Lappin. “If the strategy is too complex, then you can’t execute it well. A straightforward strategy that isn’t as good is better than a complex one that I can’t remember.”

Tamayo worked with McKeehen and coach Dominik Nitsche to develop effective strategies for the following day. Ironically, the most-studied scenario was a big blind versus button confrontation with Joe Serock, which never occurred despite spending 3-4 hours on it.

Nevertheless, the team ensured that any preparation would be applicable the next day.

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