About roctill7

I am 25 year old, originally from Lithuania. At the moment I am based in United Kingdom. I have been studying sound engineering and music technology, but due to the job field in that industry being very small I have been working various jobs after my studies. I ended up in the corporation working within tourism and leisure. After few years of working I got really bored of my lifestyle, fed up of long working hours, felt ‘unhappy’ and just couldn’t see myself moving forward in that direction... I had pretty much no free time and I have always been a kid that loves his quality time, and not being able to spend time on what I love to do made me feel as if my life is ‘boring’ and ‘worthless’.  During this time I discovered poker and I knew I had to go for it. I was thrilled of the thought of being able to be independent.

After that, It was all about becoming better and learning poker. I started researching internet and forums, found 2p2, I read a ton of  books, and found people I learned strategy from and discussed with. Was a long way before I started winning. I remember myself not really knowing the difference between NL and PL... That’s how bad I was when I started... Becoming a winning player took me some time. It was 2012 or late 2011 when I decided to leave my job, and found myself a part time job in a bar to support me, so I had more time to study and play.  I was rather to be making less money but being happy than being miserable with more money and no personal time.  My girlfriend was a huge support for me during this time.  This all helped me to become the person I am today, free will to choose what my day will look like. I have travelled and met people I would have not met otherwise too.

Charles Hawk: When did you start playing poker?

roctill7: Back in 2011 I started husngs at $7 limit. Before that I was just randomly playing most formats.

What have you tried before HUSNGs?  How did that go?

Before husngs,  I deposited approx. $200 and donked in micro cash and micro 9man sngs.  I remember myself liking cash games more than sng, so I stayed at micro cash and tried learning it from forums and videos. I remember being breakeven at NL10 or a slight winner and going at NL25 where I got crushed and lost a huge chunk of my roll. Back then I didn’t have much of a clue about what I was doing I guess :)

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

I think hardest of all for me was how to stay sharp. I was not aware of being burned out of playing a lot, and playing while auto piloting, too many tables for long stretches at my worse game.

Did you have problems with tilt, discipline and motivation when you started playing professionally?

Tilt - Yes, I guess everyone tilts in one way or the other. I have found a few types of tilt so far. One being one where I bring real life mindset to poker tables, playing when I am most prone and sensitive to tilt. If you are aware of it you can actually play but if you aren’t aware of it and play, it can take a huge cut from win rate. Second one is burned out autopiloting playing, again once you are ware of it it’s easier to handle it.

Motivation -  when I started I was into it a lot. No lack of motivation I would say. All I wanted is to get better and eat poker for breakfast instead of cereal and dream about being a high stakes player.

Discipline - lots of room to work on this subject. I would say I am not disciplined enough.  Lots to work on this subject for me. Also this is one of the major factors that determines of how successful you will get in my opinion.

How did you solve some of these problems?

I still catch myself tilting and playing for longer than I should. What I do now is try to recognise these spots so I can avoid them. Being aware of your psychological leaks is huge; once you are aware it’s like solving 65% of the problem. I would say identifying your weak spots and being aware of them is a big step.

What were your main HUSNGs leaks in game theory compared with now?

I would say not many main leaks. It’s a ton of small leaks, maybe folding too much in spots I shouldn't would be a good description.

Did you study HUSNGs a lot back then?

I think I studied an OK amount of time. Although in my opinion back then you could get away without much studying as compared to now. Poker evolves quickly.

Are you studying it now regularly?

Yes of course, not as much as when I started, because now my studying usually is of a certain hand but not some new concept that I never knew about.

In which spots were you losing the most money at the beginning?

Probably being too tight. Folding hands that are +EV

Which hands were most unprofitable for you?

I guess I have to say 62o and 72o out of position. Those hands I sense will be worse expectation, although I can’t be sure because maybe my 75o and even 97o hand could be as bad as 62o depending on how I played that oop than I started.

How many tables at once are you playing mostly?

Up to 4 nowadays. When sharky goes ‘crazy’ mode I am also 6+ tabling…

Do you have a daily routine?

I don’t know. I have a routine that changes a lot, but to describe it in poker terms my gto routine is wake up and decide most +EV plan for the day...  Sometimes I wake up and know I won't grind coz my head is buzzing with everything but not poker...  Sometimes I wake up and instantly play because I’m sharp. Most of the time I fix myself breakfast, green tea and do everything poker unrelated if possible first , and grind afterwards.