In 2025, KKPoker announced its popular Vegas Dream promotion would return for a third year. Offering our online poker community the chance to win a $12,000 package to play in the world’s biggest and most prestigious $10,000 buy-in Main Event in Las Vegas.

Among the winners was Canadian Christopher Alcindor, who achieved an impressive back-to-back package win, having also qualified for the KK Elite Team in 2024.

During the live Main Event in 2024, Chris had a viral Ace-King versus Aces hand on the streamed feature table, but despite his best efforts, he was unable to reach the cash prizes. 2025 presented Chris with a new opportunity, and this time around, he was able to achieve his goal.

Chris’ efforts over five consecutive days of live poker action resulted in a 499th-place finish out of 9,735 entries and a $32,500 cash prize.

KKPoker caught up with Chris to learn more about his experience, his most memorable hands, and his time with fellow Vegas Dream qualifiers as they navigated the journey through live poker’s biggest occasion.

“TOP 5% IN A WORLD-CLASS FIELD”

Chris, congratulations on your $32,500 prize! It was your second year running as a KKPoker Vegas Dream winner. What are your overall thoughts on your performance this year?

“I really like how calm and collected I was able to remain throughout the whole tournament this year.

“I had a bit of a shaky start on Day 1 and fell from 60K to 35K in chips, but I didn’t panic. I still felt comfortable and stuck with the plan. I managed to gradually come back later on playing my game and ended Day 1, 2, and 3 with a far above-average stack, which allowed me to maneuver better and reach even deeper stages in the tournament.

“On Day 4, after having to change tables and readapt multiple times during Day 3, I ended up starting on a table that wasn’t ideal, as I was one of the shorter stacks against quite competent players, even though I was still above average. Also, I had a pretty bad position against one of the top 20 stacks in the tournament, who was on my direct left. Still, I think I fared pretty well considering everything and managed to survive the day with only about 10BBs going into Day 5.”

In your pre-Vegas interview, you admitted that nerves were a factor in your play in 2024. Your goal for 2025 was to play closer to your usual game and your full arsenal of tools and tricks. Do you believe you achieved this?

“I got to play my usual loose aggressive style, put people in difficult spots at the right time, make good reads, and avoid trouble for the most part. In the end, I got to soak in a lot of experience too while finishing in the top 5% of a world-class field AND to bring back home a decent cash prize as well, so I really can’t complain. I’m very satisfied with the way I played this year!

Here’s some example of hands were I took more of a calculated risk:

Day 2 Hand: Qd 9d (MP) Blinds 1K/1.5K ante 1.5K

Open to 3K, LJ 3-bet to 9K, I call. Heads-up.

(Pot 22k)  FLOP [Kd Jh 7h] I check, he bets 7K, I call.

(Pot 36k) TURN [5d] Check, he bets 28K, I call.

(Pot 92k) RIVER [Td] I tank and put him all-in for 64K more (we cover), he snaps with Kh Kc. I win a ~220K Pot with a runner runner flush.

“In this hand I knew I was up against most likely the top of my opponent’s range (AA, KK, QQ, AQ+) since most of the day he had been trying to avoid playing big pots against me. The way the hand played out I just knew I would most likely get all his chips if I realized my equity and I thought I might be able to get away with a bluff if hearts were to come on the river as well.

“Turns out the Td on the river was a really good card for me because it wasn’t a heart so it can feel a bit more safe to my opponent, plus it can look like I have busted hearts and am trying to represent the diamond flush now. It also improved hands like AQo/AQs that my opponent could still have and unless he specifically has Ad Kd, I should always have the best hand. So in the end, I got lucky and won a big pot of ~145BBs which put me in a very comfortable position and further increased my chances of making a deep run.”

Day 4 Hand – Using position, range advantage and table image to my advantage.

As Qd (UTG) stack 650K, blinds 6K/12K/12K

I open to 27K, SB calls, Heads-up.

(Pot 78K) FLOP – [Ks Jd 7c] Opponent checks, I bet 36K, he calls.

(Pot 150K) TURN – [3d] Opponent checks, I bet 114k, he folds.

“Here I think by executing the plan properly, we get most hands in my opponent’s range to fold on this runout and pick up a decent pot while continuing to chip up. Very hard for them to continue with one pair hands such as KTs, K9s, JX that don’t have diamonds, even the occasional 88-TT can fold now, plus we deny equity to hands like QTs, T9s, 98s, and such.”

Also, in your preparation statement, you mentioned study sessions with friends and studying player tendencies. What did you study, and how did the preparation go?

“In the end, the preparation I did was a bit more generic than I was initially aiming for, but it was just what I needed to get rid of the overthinking and hesitation. Essentially running a couple drills online and revisiting past mistakes in key pots. It allowed me to add more fluidity to my game and to remain confident even in tricky spots.”

Talk us through 1 or 2 key hands that still play over in your mind. 

“In one particular hand I think I really got max-value against a perceived recreational player, which allowed me to recover nicely after losing a decent portion of my stack with KK against a shorter stack opponent holding AA on Day 2.

Day 2 Hand – Getting max-value out of a weak hand.

Ah 5h (BU) 186K stack, blinds 600/1,2K ante 1.2K 

MP opens to 2.5K, I call, SB calls, BB 3-bets to only 6k, we all call. 4-ways to flop.

(Pot 25.2k) FLOP [2h 4h Qc] BB bets 15.4K, MP folds, I call, SB folds.

(Pot 56k) TURN [3s] BB bets 25K, I call.

(Pot 106k) RIVER [8d] BB bets 50K, leaving themselves about 70K behind, we jam and cover. He folds and asks if we have QQ. We take down a 206K pot (~172BBs)

“In this hand, I thought the sizing used to 3-bet from the BB, out of position against 3 players, didn’t make much sense at all. The player was aware the pot was raised and that a couple of callers came along, so when he makes it this small in this scenario, I don’t think he has a top-range kind of hand. It is also worth noting that this player had previously opened 4x and 5x with hands like KK and JJ from the early position. In the end, the player admitted to not having much and getting caught with A8s (which could still be a lie).

“Given my position in this hand, I’m glad I chose not to 3-bet, as it allowed me to keep both weaker players in the blinds and avoid isolating myself against the original raiser, who is a much more aggressive and calculated player. I didn’t raise my monster draw on the flop to keep some flexibility in the hand, given that it was multiway, while also considering the weaker range (from BB) I thought I was up against. Just calling flop and turn allowed me to get an extra 50K on the river that I might not have been able to get otherwise, plus the chance to get all the rest, of course. This was really a key hand for me on Day 2.”

Day 4 Hand – Running deep while avoiding disaster

This happened within the last 30 mins of Day 4. It had been a very tough day for me but it was almost over and I was looking forward to resetting and coming back fresh for Day 5.

Ks Qd (UTG) stack 495K blinds 10K/20K, ante 20K

We limp, folds around to SB, he raises to 60k (stack 1.3M), I call. Heads-Up.

(Pot 160k) FLOP – [Qh 4s 5d] he bets 40k, I call.

(Pot 240k) TURN – [Ts] He checks, I deliberate and bet 70K. He calls.

(Pot 380k) RIVER – [6h] He checks again. What do we do?

“Generally in this spot I would most likely jam and expect weaker hands to call me a decent amount of the time. This time was a bit different, the SB was a reg/competent player with quite a big stack and the BB player had about a 30BB stack preflop, so from the start I found it kind of suspicious that he would ‘only’ raise to 3BB from the SB in this situation as opposed to say 3.5BBs-5.5BBs.

“After going for a small sizing on the flop, he would usually opt for a big turn sizing, typically around 65-80% of the pot. However, this time he checked, despite the [Ts] bringing in a lot of possible draws. So I thought about betting small on the turn in case he has hands like JJ, AK, AJ, TX, 88-99 and still be able to check back river.

“So, after he called turn and checked the river, especially without giving much thought to possibly bluffing, something just felt wrong… I played with my chips a lot, counting my stack and stacking them all in one pile as if I were ready to push them in. This player who usually made eye contact in similar situations was now trying to avoid eye contact and look away, which was also very atypical. All of this led me to believe that something wasn’t right; he was giving me too much room to maneuver here, and surely he had a monster. Apart from one combo of QQ he could have, all I could think of was AA, which would really match the preflop action and the way the hand played out.

“Finally, I announced that I check back, even though I should really be all-in with my hand from a theoretical standpoint. Opponent turns over AA and I’m so happy and relieved that I didn’t eliminate myself in that spot. Gave myself a pat on the back and did a little fist pump. I flashed my Queen card and could see the disappointment on my opponent’s face after realizing he missed a lot of value and that I dodged his trap. A couple of hands later, I was bagging for Day 5 with the feeling that I was now freerolling the whole tournament since I really ‘should have’ been out on that hand.”

“THE COLLECTIVE SPIRIT OF THE TEAM”

How did you manage the 2-hour levels and continuous play over multiple days? 

“The two-hour levels are just great and really favor a more laid-back and thoughtful strategic approach. You have time to wait for good hands while gathering a lot of information on the players at the table and how they play in different situations. It also compensates for the fact that we are playing fewer hands by default, given that it’s live rather than online. Regarding the continuous play, I was able to remain disciplined and still get some decent sleep even though the adrenaline and excitement kept me up thinking for a while every night haha

“I noticed some players getting tired towards the end of the day and making small mistakes. They might not see an open or misread cards or suits at times, which is something to keep in mind when playing long sessions over multiple days for that much money.”

Any other fun stories or moments or thoughts you want to share?

“A couple of hours after Day 2 was over, I noticed that I would start Day 3 at the same table as legend Jennifer Harman, PCA winner Maria Lampropulos and no other than fellow Quebecer Jean-François “Jhope” Alexandre, one of my friends, who happens to be in my club on KKPoker as well! Considering this huge field and the number of tables, what are the odds of us ending up at the same table? It was really fun when we both messaged each other about it!

“In any case, we ended up playing for maybe 30-45 mins before we got moved to another table, which was a good thing in the sense that we didn’t have to go at it against each other, which we most definitely would have if needed haha.”

You spent a lot of time with your fellow Vegas Dream winners. Also sharing a surprising flight with fellow Canadian, Marco Dickner, tell us about this experience and team ethos. 

“I flew in on July 2nd to play the Main Event shortly after. During the board period, I already saw three other fellow Canadian poker players and had a brief chat with them before wishing them good luck and going to my seat. Shortly after, a couple took their seats next to me and I vaguely recognized the man; he looked so familiar. I gave it some thought and then remembered that one of the qualifiers was flying in on the 2nd as well, so I thought, “This might be Marco, haha, let me ask him.” I asked him, and he said yes, mentioning that he had spotted me before with the KKPoker hat and hoody but wasn’t sure who I was. We both laughed as it was a very unique coincidence to be seated right next to each other. We talked for a while and started bonding during the flight and already set up the tone and the good vibes for the rest of the trip.

“The collective spirit was such that after the KK Elite team finally assembled in Vegas, we were all in this together as a big family, helping and supporting each other. We had a team bonding dinner for all the qualifiers, where we got to be introduced to each other and get to know everyone on a more personal level.

“You know, having a team behind you for the occasion really helps to keep a clean and strong mindset to go through an epic Main Event journey. We also created a chat where we constantly shared news, updated our status, and gave advice throughout the event. I even remember discussing short stack strategy and tanking near the bubble with Marco after Day 3 was over. I think everyone really enjoyed their experience and performed well, considering everything. Good memories for sure!”

“UNDOUBTEDLY THE DREAM OF POKER PLAYERS”

What advice would you give to poker players wanting to win a 2026 Vegas Dream package at KKPoker? 

“Listen guys, I don’t want to tell people what to do, but I qualified for the $10K Main Event both years back-to-back, so let me at least share with you what I will do. First thing on the list is to get the full schedule of the satellites that award a KKPoker Vegas Dream package. We want to write that down in our agenda and make sure we block some time to play those. Second is to pay attention to the $20 Step satellites.

“The goal is to participate in as many satellites as possible, finish in the top two or first if needed, and accumulate higher value tickets. By doing so, we’ll make sure to have the maximum amount of opportunities at hand to play our best game, not focus on the overall game cost and aim for the much-coveted Vegas Dream package bink that can allow anyone to turn a small investment into an epic Main Event run and cash prize!”

Do you have any final thoughts on your experience, and what are your next plans with KKPoker and playing poker in general?

“My final thoughts on the experience are that I’ve come to realize how much growth I’ve achieved since last year, all of which was made possible by KKPoker. Playing the Main Event is undoubtedly the dream of many poker players, and making that dream a reality is a truly unique feeling. It will far outweigh any bad beat story one could recall.

“It really pays off to set objectives and work steadily towards every little aspect needed to ensure we reach the final destination, and that whole process is truly what changes someone for the better!

“Going forward, I’ll look to play even more of the satellites for all major events across Canada since KKPoker is doing a great job at offering so many opportunities that way. Also, I’ll be looking to continue expanding the network of amazing people I meet daily while doing what I love.”