The advice that Patrik Antonius, Erik Seidel, Dan “Jungleman” Cates and other top pros would give to their younger selves
What advice would you give your younger self?
Sporting News posed this question to the high stakes poker pros gathered at Triton’s Super High Roller series in Hoi An, Vietnam. The collective wisdom of poker gathered there may have surpassed any other time in history, and they were happy to share some of the life lessons they had to learn the hard way.
Patrick Anthony
“The most important thing is to be honest with yourself about your focus and ability. You can’t have an ego.”
“We’re all going to have a very, very difficult time with poker at some point. It’s inevitable with the swings and volatility. That destroys a lot of players. So you have to be prepared that it will not be easy for you. You have to earn it very hard. But in the end it will be worth it.”
Dan “Jungleman” Cates
“Play tournaments or PLO. I don’t think anything will be too easy. I think tournaments could be pretty soft. There are also options for tournaments to travel to the softs, and there are tons of people who aren’t very good at the softs.”
Erich Seidel
“Play more mixed games.”
Sam Grafton
“One big takeaway for me is that you don’t have to win every hand you play in. I used to get into every hand and think, well, I could have aces and they can’t have aces. So I would play each hand as if I had aces or could have a set.”
“Sometimes the way ranges interact, this is just a point where you check-fold. Sometimes you have pocket kings and you get very attached to that hand. You want to call, but you don’t need to win every hand. You can let things go and wait for a better place.”
Michael Soyza
“Think twice before you decide to become a poker pro because the players are really, really good now. And there are probably things you can do now to make more money.”
Jonathan “Apestyles” Van Fleet
“Have some structure. Study and watch what I’m putting into my body and things like that. Don’t drink and learn Short Deck or PLO.”
Linus “LLinusLLove” Löliger
“Be ambitious and feel actively motivated to learn. That is the most important thing to be successful in this game.”
Mike “SirWatts” Watson
“The biggest step I took was trying to look at the game fundamentally, rather than just trying to copy strategies or do what everyone else is doing. Try to learn from the basics of the game and get a deeper understanding of the strategy that way.”
Timothy “Tim0thee” Adams
“Take it easy on yourself in different facets of life, including relationships. Prioritize things as simple as sleep. Prioritize general well-being. Stay balanced, don’t have too many ups and downs. When you’re younger, you’re a bit more of a chaos addict.”
Isaac Haxton
“There’s more variance in poker and you’re not as good as you think you are. Be more careful with your money.
Jason Koon
“So much advice. So many mistakes. Spend less time being mad at myself for making mistakes. Forgive me faster and just focus on sitting in the chair.”
Daniel Dvoress
“Spend more time learning poker and less time playing it.”