Charles Hawk: What, at the very beginning, was the hardest thing to learn to be able to climb the limits in HUSNGs?

spiritedreal: At the very beginning I didn't think very much about my ranges or my opponents' ranges. When I used to play cash games, I just played my hand, and I was still doing that.

Thinking about ranges can be complex early on. It’s a necessary step in the study process, and even if someone plays day-to-day, it may not come to them. Although it takes time, it also takes proper studying and focus.

CH: Did you have problems with tilt, discipline, and motivation when you started playing professionally? How did you solve these problems (maybe there are some problems even now)?

spiritedreal: Back in the day, before I started playing hyper HUSNGs, I used to play 6-max cash games. I have to admit, I had serious tilt issues. Many times I played much higher than my normal stakes, and it often ended badly. My bankroll management was the weakest part of my game.

Currently I feel that I play relatively tilt-free. Having a staker behind me helps a lot; I let him worry about my results, and I worry about my EV. :)

I don’t think I ever had any problems with motivation. I enjoy playing the game. Even during difficult times I remain motivated to achieve better results and to improve my performance.

CH: Tell me about your decision to join husng.com's staking program. What did you gain from it?

spiritedreal: There were two reasons that motivated me to join the husng.com staking program. One was the controlled bankroll management. It helped me focus on the levels I could beat with my current knowledge, and I wasn’t tempted to play higher stakes at which I am not comfortable either skill-wise or bankroll-wise.

My other big driving force was the need to get better at the game. I knew that something was wrong, but I couldn't figure it out on my own. I thought that, with the help of some great coaches and the staking program itself, I could become much more successful long-term. I got a lot of coaching materials from the program and very valuable information from the program, and I attribute my success to this. To tell you the truth, I would rather have kept it secret that Coffeeyay is priceless as head coach of the program. So great thanks to him here too for helping me to improve a ton in the last 18 months! I’ve also been working with another of the program's coaches, Cory, and he's been great as well. Another nice benefit of the program is the support team who are able to help with whatever problem I have.

CH: What were your main HUSNG leaks compared to now?

spiritedreal: Basically I was playing with a lot of huge leaks. Both my preflop and postflop frequencies were all over the place. I played what I "felt" was good, and now I am much more conscious of my game.

CH: Did you study HUSNGs a lot back then? Do you study a lot now? Tell us about your study process as fully as possible.

spiritedreal: To tell the truth I didn't study at all back when I started. The most I did was watch some coaching videos and try to steal some ideas from them. Now I try to work on my game regularly, and I use various analyzing programs. I also participate in coaching sessions regularly to help me stay up-to-date with the latest tendencies and think about different spots.

CH: In which spots were you losing the most money at the beginning? Which hands were most unprofitable for you? How did you solve those spots?

spiritedreal: At the very beginning I think I lost a lot by being way too tight both preflop and postflop. I’m not sure which hands were the worst, but probably my mid- and low-value cards suffered the most.

CH: What are your main strengths?

spiritedreal: I think my main strength is that I can play long hours playing my A or B game. I’m also confident of my hand reading skills.

CH: How does your standard grinding day look?

spiritedreal: After I get up, I have breakfast and start my first session. I usually play 2-3 hours, have lunch, and then continue with a second session for around the same amount of time. After that I take a longer break. I’ll deal with non-poker plans, do some sports, have a coaching/studying session, and in the evening I play a 3rd similar session.

CH: What do you want to achieve in poker? Do you have a plan B for what you would do after ending poker? Is it perhaps related to your studies?

spiritedreal: Lately I play most of my games against regs at the $300 level. I’m dedicated to moving up to this level fully. I plan to continue playing higher volume in the coming months to prove myself, and I hope for the best. :)

I also just finished with my studies this year in business and management. If for some reason I decided not to play poker, I would move to a 9-to5 job or start a company on my own.

CH: How does your daily routine change, and how differently do you divide your time than when you attended university?

spiritedreal: I recently finished university, and now I concentrate on poker full-time. But it was very difficult to have enough time for both studying and playing poker when I was at university. I would say I shared my time 50-50 between the two.

CH: What are your hobbies?

spiritedreal: I like travelling, visiting new places and getting to know other cultures. I also like doing sports: hiking, cycling, playing tennis, outdoor activities, etc. I also like to hang out with friends and share some ideas while drinking a beer.

CH: Any interesting or funny stories related with poker?

spiritedreal: Some years ago, I was lucky enough to play poker in Sharm-El-Sheikh in Egypt during a smaller tournament series. Despite the low buy-ins, I played with some very rich guys from the Middle East.

One evening I was playing a 9-handed 2-4 cash game. There was a middle-aged Middle Eastern guy who was wearing a suit and very richly dressed. Someone said he was in the oil business, while others said he was some kind of prince. He was also drinking whisky all night, but remained friendly and polite the entire time. He didn’t care much about money at all though, and was playing like crazy. He was pushing all in pre-flop for 150-200bb, giving tips the size of the pot he had just won and things like that.

In Egypt, they have a law where the casinos have to close at a certain time in the evening. This guy didn’t like the law, but couldn't convince the manager to stay open longer. He even offered the manger a few hundred euros to let us play a few more hands. After the manager turned him down, he invited the whole table he was playing with to join him and move to another casino and continue playing there.

About 6 of us and his wife got in his white SUV, and he drove us down to a nearby casino. He was still drinking his whisky while driving us there. The other casino had closed just before we arrived, but he was able to talk to the manager and get him to stay open for half an hour more. Unfortunately, they didn't have any poker tables, so we watched him play roulette.

He had a few more whiskys, lost tens of thousands of euros, and said goodnight--just as happy as he was when the night started.