Spencer Moe
Alias: 360flip19
Stakes: $200 hyper turbo reg
Age: 24 years
Nationality: Canadian

Charles Hawk: First of all, introduce yourself to the people who don't know you: full name, nickname, where are you from, which sites do you play, game and level, results (if you can) and your main strengths and weaknesses.

Spencer Moe (360flip19): My name is Spencer Moe. I am from Canada. I play on PokerStars as 360flip019 and on FTP as 360flip19. I am a regular at $200 hyper turbos and play down to $60s.

In last couple years I've enjoyed a lot of success playing heads up sngs as a professional and have also managed to have a scoop top 3 finish in 4max. I feel most of my success has come from always believing that my game needs lots of work. I don't think there is ever a place to become satisfied or complacent in regards to my skill level. The game moves forwards so if I'm not improving I feel I am falling behind. I think this applies to everyone in poker, especially husngs as of lately.

CH: How old are you and how long have you been playing poker?

SM: I'm 24 years old and I've been playing professionally for close to three years now. Although my first year was somewhat rocky, I learned a lot which led to the past two years being great and think I have become what I view as a somewhat legitimate professional. ^^

CH: Tell me as informatively as possible about your whole "journey of improvement" with some specific practical examples (like leak elimination in playing draw heavy boards or something else poker related)

SM: My answer might be a little different though.

The main thing that lead to my improvement in poker has honestly been perspective. I began playing poker for a living somewhat differently than most others have. I had a series of injuries which didn't allow me to work most jobs I was qualified for. This gave me a ton of free time where I studied poker round the clock for no reason other than enjoyment. I didn't expect to play professionally, but I was enjoying making 1-2k a month.

When I became healthy again I moved to Whistler into my own place with the intention of working in a restaurant or something with poker being my side income, but a pinched ulnar nerve prevented me from working again. So rather than move back home I was determined to make it in poker. The first few months were rough but I got coaching, studied a lot, switched to hypers, and managed to make it work. The perspective I gained through this has been one of the most valuable things for me. It taught me a lot and is why I appreciate what I do for a living so much. Having this outlook has lead to a healthy mindframe which is needed for poker in order to play well and not become emotional. Of course I still study theory, specific players, spots which are common occurances to improve, but I think having the right outlook on things has been most important to me.

CH: What's your physical condition now? If you will ever want to choose what to do after poker, could you do anything without restrictions?

SM: I'm in alright physical condition. Living in Whistler it's hard to be too out of shape. There is a lot to do here outdoors. Like most poker players I could still use a tune-up though. :)

I have given after poker a lot of thought. It's hard to say exactly what I will do afterwards, but I would be happiest doing something entrepreneurial. I don't feel like anything is holding me back.

CH: Since husng.com is a coaching site, could you tell us something about your study routine which would be helpful for the beginners? For example, how did you 'self-educate'? And do you have any specific study routine now?

SM: The way I study now is much different than when I was first learning. For playing recreational players it's very important to have a firm grasp on population tendencies. Especially in micro stakes, all players are basically recreational, so learning and understanding this will be essential for crushing those levels. As you move up in stakes, it naturally becomes more predatory where battles vs specific players are more common. Playing fellow regualrs vs playing recs requires different strategies in most cases.

My study routine now consists of the same idea, but now I am mindful of different tendencies/statistics found in common players and regs. There are many great software programs to study with as well. In addition to that, I enjoy talking poker with my housemates a lot. It's always going to be useful to understand how another poker player thinks. I think different ideas and thought processes are always useful to think about, even if it doesnt translate to in-game play specifically. It's always good to just think poker.

CH: So you are living in a house with your poker friends, right?

SM: Yes. I live in a house in Whistler, Canada with A13x_J0nes, ekko1, alloman, vers, and MDG0RD0N.

CH: Tell me what living in a grind house looks like. What are the main disadvantages compared with living on your own poker-wise?

SM: I think the obvious advantage for being in a poker house is improving one's game. When you are in a group of guys who all play for a living you can really feel off each other. I feel like everyone here including myself has improved a lot. The downsides to the house is it can sometimes be easy to be distracted when everyone is doing fun things. That's also the other advantage to being in a house - is it's a better social life for myself as a poker player. During long sessions of playing it's nice to have some company to banter with.

CH: So usually you are all grinding in the same area/room?

SM: Some of the guys have different preferences, but there is usually a few of us playing in the same area. I like playing with other people better myself. We play in our livingroom grind fort that A13x and myself built to keep out flying objects and MDG0RD0N (though he plays in there the most now lol)

CH: Tell me about getting into divisions.

SM: I was added into the 200s a couple days after the division started. This was before the 100s or 60s existed. So it really wasnt much of a battle at all in that regards. I just started playing regs and then a day later I was added. I didnt know it would be that quick so I was prepared to play quite a bit.

So I have been in 200s basically from the very beginning. A lot has changed since then. The group has come a long way since then. It's a solid group of players.

CH: How often does someone try to get into 200s?

SM: When the 200s first started, like most divisions, there were some kinks to work out. During this time the group went through a lot of changes with guys leaving/being added. I think it's hard to put a number on it like that because we have become so much stronger since the beginning. Some of the previous prospects are some of the strongest players now and things have settled in comparison to the beginning. So it's a bit hard to say. It almost entirely comes down to the individuals' skill combined with work eithic.

CH: Tell me about your multitabling skills.

SM: I used to think I had a pretty good handle on playing a lot of tables until I met Alex :D. but I can play a reg on 6 tables comfortably. When playing different opponents I try to keep it at 4 or 5 max.

CH: How would you advise players who can comfortably play up to 2 tables?

SM: Multitabling is a skill in poker. You need to find the right balance for yourself. If your roi drops 1% when you go from two tables to four tables and you have a 3% roi playing while playing two tables then it will earn a higher hourly playing on four. If your roi drops 2% or more then this isnt an advantage and can start to cost you money.

CH: How many games is a fair sample to check that?

SM: It will depend on the player's winrate for how many games will produce accurate results. The player should also have an idea of how comfortable he/she feels and during review if mistakes become much more abundant it can be a decent indicator something is wrong. This is very important to catching yourself losing money rather than punting out a sample size and judging once the games are already played. You can improve along the way. As I said, it depends on the player. After a couple k games there should be an idea of how things are going ev wise though

CH: How about bankroll management? How many buy-ins would you suggest to have to play comfortably at $15s and $30s? How many buy-ins would you suggest to have in order to try to get into $60s or $100s, keeping in mind reg battling?

SM: HUSNG.com's very own Kelly Criterion calculator is an excellent tool to accurately gauge how many buyins a player needs for the stake they want to play and with their current roi or expected roi.