Eurostar: waswini's MTT shark attack
He made his first deposit when his bankroll was already $14,000! French MTT shark waswini talks about his High Roller win and his Sharkscope's curve.
By PKR_Antoine on Thursday 21 Jan 2010 12:30
A continental superstar shares some of the secrets of his success.
waswini at the APT Manila
MTT specialist, recent winner of the High Roller for over $15,000, waswini (Alias Marc, 23 from France) loves live tourneys as much as the online variety - he even qualified twice to the APT Macau through PKR satellites. This solid player only deposited once, $50 in 2008 (when his bankroll was already $14,000!) and since then he has only been cashing out. A lot. Check out his Sharkscope graph at the bottom to see what we mean...
Congratulations Marc, very nice result last Saturday in the High Roller, $15,260 first prize...What was your first reaction?
Overjoyed. A five digit results at last! First reaction was to tell my parents who have supported my choices since the beginning.
How was your journey to the final table?
I managed to get some chips early, so I have been able to develop my game. I remember an important hand that made me chipleader with 40 players left. Blinds 400/800, I raise on the button with K9 of spades and the big blind (xavi78) calls. Rainbow flop 3-10-5, xavi donk bets $2,400, I re-raise to $7,200 and he calls. Turn 3 - Xavi donk bets again to $6,400, I re-raise to $15,525 and he calls. River jack, xavi checks and I go all-in for $26,650 and xavi folds. I win a $50K pot and I am chipleader with a great confidence.
How does it feel to reach and win the final table of this tournament full of stars?
It is a feeling of achievement, fulfilment, to reach the final table of such a big tournament even though I wasn't interested in finishing in sixth place. I really wanted to win it all. I wanted to win a major on PKR. I have had a lot of good cards on the final table and I have been lucky. Especially when I shoved with A-10 on a J-10-9 flop and got slow called by lemok with KQ. Destiny decided to bring a King and a Queen on the board. So I hit a runner runner winning straight, otherwise I would have finished third and, again, not in the spotlights.
You are a good MTT player and you also finished sixth at the Main Event at PKR Live III, what did you think Live III?
I love PKR Live. It’s always a fun weekend where you can put a face on avatars. The atmosphere and the level of poker are always great. I hope I will be there again for Live IV!
Are you proud of being part of the Fronk community?
Yes indeed, French players have reputation of a bad technique (I have to admit this is often the case) but a small core group of players manage to increase the skills of our nation, thanks to a certain French poker forum. We are winning a lot of tournaments and our community is often at the top. I don’t think this is luck and this is going to continue I am sure.
How long have you been pro?
I am not a big fan of the word “pro”, so I prefer to say I live from poker since October 2008.
Your best results online? And live?
Everything is listed above! Online best is this High Roller win, and live best was my sixth place at Live III for over $8,000.
What are your goals for 2010?
As for 2009, my goal this year is to take part in a maximum of live international events and perhaps heading to Las Vegas to get a big live result.
You only deposited once $50 in September 2008 and nothing else... Your total withdrawal is over $58K and you have a bankroll over $20K... Come on tell us your secret!
To be totally exact, I had to deposit $50 when my bankroll was already $14,000... This $50 deposit was just to be able to withdraw the $4K I wanted to withdraw. Because of the French laws, I wasn’t able to deposit with my card back in 2007, so I had to start with freerolls. Then I started playing on cash games and I have been able to play all limits of this site.
There is no secret, it’s simple, you have to give yourself the possibility to succeed without reading any poker books and play as you feel. Just cross your fingers and hope for some luck! :D
What do you think of your Sharkscope's curve?
The impact of a High Roller on a profit graph!
Graph used with permission from waswini
Hmm well, I am proud of it, but I prefer my cash game curve lol.
Your favourite tournament on PKR?
I love the Grand Prix! I prefer six seaters and this one is daily, that’s all I need!
How do you deal with badbeats? Do you sometimes tilt?
I always try to stay calm and not to change anything in my strategy. If I feel I am 'playing angry', I immediately switch off my computer and do something else. Playing angry is the worst thing to do for a poker player.
So what do you like to do to unwind when you’re not playing poker?
I love all sports in general and I love partying. But I have to admit I am a geek because I am passionate for World of Warcraft lol.
Your favourite Pro poker players?
Negreanu is always making me laugh. In terms of quality, I think Elky is above them all at the moment.
Last but not least, what does waswini mean, where does it come from?
It is an ancestral Chinese word which means... noooo only joking; the explanation is rather ridiculous: I discovered poker five years ago, I was watching cable TV. Someone won a big tournament and his name was... Ram Vaswani. Later, I wanted to register on a poker site, I had to use my great imagination to come out with a username. So I used the same as the one I saw on TV, so to make it short my username is just a drivel. But I have decided to always use the same on all other poker rooms.
