Final Table Bios: Seat 3, Ylon Schwartz (12,525,000)
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Schwartz has repeatedly drawn two parallels between chess and poker. The first is the memorization that's required to compete at a high level. In chess, players memorize openings, endgames, and sometimes entire playing histories of opponents, hoping to divine an opponent's plan five moves ahead of time so that an effective counter can be designed. In poker, obviously, memorizing how a player has previously acted, reacted or not acted in a particular situation can inform how to proceed in a future hand.
The second parallel between chess and poker is what Schwartz has called their "geometrical aspects". Schwartz believes that you have to think of a poker table like a pie, and then make bets and pot size properly to carve out an angle to a weak player. Similar principles are in play in chess, where taking control of board territory occupied by one's opponent can lead to victory.
Schwartz hasn't played much chess recently -- his last tournament was played in Zurich in 2005 -- but he still retains his passion for the game. Given his poker results, however, it wouldn't be surprising if Schwartz were in no rush to return to the world of competitive chess. He has cashed in eleven previous WSOP events since 2005, racking up almost $125,000 in prize money. His two previous best finishes were both 15th place finishes: in Event 22 at the 2005 WSOP ($1,500 No-Limit Hold'em) and in Event 20 at the 2008 WSOP ($2,000 Limit Hold'em). He also has one WPT cash to his credit along with a score of cashes since 2004 in smaller buy-in tournaments in Atlantic City.
Overall, Schwartz credits patience in abundant supply as a foundation of his success in poker. Sitting at a table for long hours and staying focused to make proper decisions isn't easy without patience, Schwartz has said. To help develop this aspect of his game, Schwartz practices Bikram yoga, also known as "hot yoga" (because it usually takes place in heated rooms), a style of yoga that is used primarily to develop the ability to control one's mind.
During Day 6 and Day 7, because of the value of making the final table, Schwartz felt grinding out small pots and shutting hands down on the flop when he knew he had them locked up made more sense than trying to extract maximum value for his hand. It's a strategy that allowed him to amass 12,525,000 chips coming into the final table. That puts him in fifth place, just slightly under the average stack of 15,207,222 but with a very playable 52 big blinds.