The fact that Shawn “buck21″ Buchanan from Abottsford British Columbia currently sits in the Top Ten of the Canadian Player All Time Money list and was in the Top 20 of the 2010 WSOP money list, is certainly testament that at the very least, he has certainly been bringing in the “big bucks”. It’s also no stretch of the truth to say that Buchanan is one of the very best players from Canada, if total cash won and consistency is any indicator. As for Shawn’s opinions on that;
“Being on the top ten Canadian all time money list is a great honor, I would love to move up even higher in the next few years, but there are a lot of great Canadian players, so we will see what happens. It is tough to pass some of the Canadians with huge WSOP main event scores. I am looking forward to a good 2011, 2010 was a great year for me in tournaments and I can only hope to match it. I am focused on the WSOP 2011 and hoping to making some deep runs and trying to snatch up my first bracelet!”
With over forty major tournament money finishes spread across the APPT, Aussie Millions, WPT, NAPT and WSOP, Shawn has also been know to play some massive buy-ins, like this years PCA $100,000 High Roller. While he didn’t “score in the big one”,Shawn did go on to win the $5000 Pokerstars Eight Game Championships at PCA, kicking off the year with another title and $63,290 after defeating the previous years champion Mike Gorodinsky heads up and third place finisher Greg “Fossilman” Raymer. Clearly, Buchanan likes a challenge. Mid-way through the 2011 WSOP, Shawn is getting closer and closer to the “gold” his poker goals are calling for, with already having had three cashes of 22nd place or better in a variety of poker disciplines.
Shawn’s professional poker career really began to pick up steam after he won his first major World Poker Tour in Season 6. His 2007 win was worth a sweet $768,775 USD, or put another way, about seven hundred and twenty thousand dollars more than any of his previous cashes.
“My Mandalay Bay score was a big boost to my bankroll and after that score, I was able to relax more and play some bigger buy in tournaments more consistently”, said Buchanan, on how he “took off” in the game, also offering; “Before my bankroll boost I would play satellites to try to get into the main events, and if I didn’t win my way in, I would not play the event at that time. Satellites are a great way to get into a tourney cheap and the bonus is you keep 100 percent of your own action.”
As far as who’s advice has helped him get this far and who has helped his game, Buchanan gives credit to one of his close friends;
“When I first came on the scene I talked a lot of poker with Greg Mueller, he taught me a lot about discipline, game selection, and bankroll management, among many other things. We still talk a lot of poker and travel with each other quit often. He is an extraordinary poker player and quite fun to hang out with.”
Shawn has amassed around $4,400,000 in combined online and live tournament winnings in just the past seven years of playing poker, the majority of it playing live poker. On top of playing poker events, Buchanan is also known to regularly multi-table cash games of $100/$200 No Limit online and when he is really in the mood to shake things up, his stakes can go much higher than that.
“I used to play mainly No Limit cash games online, but the last couple years I decided to play the mix games for a new challenge.” said Buchanan, “I sit in the biggest mix games available online and mix it up a lot with guys like Eli Elezra, Eric Lindgren, Huck seed, Abe Mossari, Jared Bleznick, Joe Cassidy, Daniel Alaei, Marco Johnson and Lyle Berman. The mix games are good action and a lot of fun. I enjoy playing with Jared because he is a great and interesting player. He has a funny personality and is always good for a couple laughs at the table.”
Shawn also continued; “My favorite mixed (live) tourney would be the 50k Players Championship; I think that tournament is a good test of true skills for the all around poker players. I was quite pleased when it was won last year by a great poker player in Michael Mizrachi, who is a friend of mine and who I consider great all around person.”
Surprisingly enough, when you consider how well live tournament poker has treated “buck21″, it isn’t always his first choice when it comes to playing;
“I would say I play more online than live, I don’t play as many live cash games because I get bored, unless they are big enough to spark my interest. I would rather play cash games online where I can play more tables at once and get more action. I only really play tourneys online when they have the big series like FTOPS and I play the occasional Sunday and watch football. I would enjoy winning any major online event, they all have tough competition and winning any of them would be a great accomplishment. I enjoy the mix games the most now and I will always love No Limit Hold’em tournaments, the players can be challenging and they are a lot of fun once you get deep.”
Buchanan is known by peers and fans alike to be one of the most calm, cool, collected and well mannered class acts on the world circuit, no matter what is thrown at him. For every success he had, 2010 also seemed destined to put Shawn’s breaking point to the test on several occasions; once when he was “2-outed” during a $25,000 WPT match while 3 handed, the beat costing him a potential million dollar money difference and the POY title, then again in Event #52 of the 2010 World Series of Poker in the $25,000 High Roller 6 Max Event, this time costing Shawn a half million dollar difference in money and his first bracelet.
While it would have been enough to send many off the deep-end, Shawn puts it another way;
“Yes, I was basically a couple unlucky hands away from maybe winning both 25k events last year, but that is poker and sometimes you are on the other end as well. I could have been out earlier in those events to I’m sure without a couple lucky hands or races that had to be won. In the end, you have to realize that you can’t control the outcome once the cards are turned up, all you can do is play your best and try to get it in good. Sometimes you will take a bad beat, sometimes you will give a bad beat, whichever end you are on make sure to deal with it like a gentleman. You must always keep your emotions in check at the table, showing your emotions only give your opponents an advantage.”
As for where his heart lies and his connection to our game in Canada you will see Shawn out in the field if the stakes are right; like in the British Columbia Poker Championships, where he also ran deep last fall. While he might follow the money like most, the Full Tilt Poker pro sums it up easily;
“I’m always excited to visit Bahamas, Australia and I love London now, after going for the first time this past year. That said, I will remain a BC boy, I have no desire to move away from home right now, my family and friends are back in Vancouver and I enjoy my time at home. I think living in Las Vegas would be extremely hard; too many bad habits might catch up with someone.”
