Level 6 (300/600/600)
Total Entrants: 116
Shem Yusuf (pictured) is hard to read. Calm waters run deep, so the saying goes, and the same is true with Yusuf. Conservative, poised, and mostly silent at the table, Yusuf nevertheless is hard at work calculating the proper play, optimum bet amount, and zeroing in on his opponents' weaknesses.
Yusuf speaks with a confidence of a professional, though he calls himself semi-pro. He works for the Department of Commerce as a Procurement Analyst, with his primary concern being whether federal funds are spent wisely. Needless to say, the skills he uses on a daily basis serve him well at the poker table.
Yusuf has played RGPS events in Council Bluffs, Joplin, and Tulsa, but Kansas City is closest to his Overland Park home. Asked whether he prefers tournaments over cash games, Yusuf is unambiguous, "Oh, tournaments, for sure. Anyone can take that 51% [edge] in a cash game, but tournaments require a much deeper strategy."
And he has proven he knows how to execute. Yusuf finished fifth in the inaugural 2016 RGPS Harrah's NKC Main Event for $3,469, and has only improved since. In March, he cashed in an MSPT Event, finishing fourth for $29,206; and in June, he cashed in the Venetian DeepStack Championship Poker Series, finishing 22nd for $8,554.
Yusuf has been running well in Flight B, having doubled his starting stack to 40,000 chips.