— Andrey, hi! You are not well known on the international GipsyTeam forum. Tell us how you got into poker and why you chose limit games?
– I learned to play about 20 years ago, back in school. I heard about online poker and PokerStrategy when I entered college. As soon as I turned 18, I received $50 to start. At first I played Hold'em, but soon learned about limit games and lost interest in playing two cards. Since 2010, I've been playing only limit games.
– Have you ever regretted that you were drawn to limit games, and not Omaha, for example, which is currently at its peak?
– There is no regret, but there is a desire to devote more time to Omaha, since there are, frankly speaking, very few limit games online now. Offline, things are even worse – only the WSOP seems to pay attention to them.
– Congratulations on winning the $1,500 HORSE event this year at the WSOP.
You won your first bracelet in the same tournament in 2018. How has the field changed since then?
– It’s hard to say. After winning, I only played this tournament in 2019-2020, then Covid happened, and I didn’t have a visa. It feels like there are fewer people ( Ed. – Not exactly – in 2018 there were 731 entries, this year – 867 ), but there are still a lot of fans. Although I was unlucky with the seating – the first table was more like the $10k Championship in terms of composition – David ODB Baker, Yuri Dzivilevsky, Brian Yun. I wondered how they got here.
Then I was moved and at the new table I almost didn’t know anyone, it was more pleasant. On the second day, I found myself at a table with my friend Vincent and Andrey Zaichenko. Alex Livingston was also playing with us, who vacuumed up all the chips, entering on any cards. He crippled many.
I had to survive for a long time with a short stack, but then I had a lucky five-minute period and by the break I already had a medium stack. After the break, everything was going well, and I ended the day as the chip leader.
– How did you feel when you reached the final of the tournament you once won?
– There was some excitement. It seemed like I was playing as usual, but I wasn’t getting anywhere, so gradually the stack went from being the chip leader to the shortest.
In fact, I am much more used to playing with a short stack, I immediately get into full gear, it is very scary to lose an extra blind or a big bet, the prospect of going all in on any cards in the next hands is frightening.
The atmosphere at the final table was as pleasant as possible. My neighbor on the right was a player from Israel named Tal Avivi, it turns out he started following me after my victory in 2018. His wife speaks Russian, so we communicated in Russian. It was a bit surprising to learn that I have fans.
True, it was awkward – I knocked him out in fourth place and he was very upset, he didn't even want to shake my hand and left in anger. But after the victory he came up to me and congratulated me.
– Did you have to make difficult decisions in the tournament?
– Essentially, when you have a short stack, you already decide on the first streets whether to commit or not.
One interesting hand, however, was surprisingly in Hold'em:
Limit Hold'em, blinds 6/12k
Nick Guagenti in the CO raises to 24k with , I'm in the small blind and only have 23k so I just call with . In the BB Alex Livingston also calls with .
Flop:
I'm all-in, sidepot is only 2k, everyone checks.
Turn:
Livingston bets 24k with , Nick folds .
River, you know what they put in. (Editor's Note – Of course, it was the that would have given Nick a straight).
If I had more than 23k at that moment, I would have 3-bet, knocked out K3, got all-in with AJ and would have been eliminated in 50th place. Such a happy coincidence. Then, I gradually got going.
There were constant swings in heads-up, sometimes I would be left with a couple of big bets, sometimes my opponent, Thomas Taylor. Once we were dealt a cooler in Razz, I had the first nuts, and he had the second. After that, he seemed to float and after a couple of hands he was not very good in his all-in.
– Did you manage to celebrate the bracelet with your impressive support group?
– We finished at night, so most places were already closed. We just sat in the casino bar and then went to dinner at an Armenian restaurant.
– Having won the bracelet, did you change your plans regarding high stakes tournaments?
– No. To play more focused, I sell shares and want shareholders to participate in any action. So if I didn’t sell for something, I won’t jump into it. Plus, if I initially refused some tournaments, then it’s not worth playing them – because of the lineups, structure or for some other reason.
– After your victory, you told PokerNews journalists that you find Hold'em boring. What's more interesting to you than limit?
– It seems like many people have similar feelings when you’re already immersed in limit and play a lot. It’s annoying when you’re dealt only two cards, and you have to throw them away all the time. In limit, you have a lot more playable hands, you enter the game more often. Plus, we have a cool and more relaxed atmosphere, everyone communicates, no one sits with a poker face. If you make a mistake, it only costs you one big bet, and in NLHE you can lose your entire stack in one hand. Horrible!
About 15 years ago I played Hold'em myself, and I liked everything, but when you start to include limit games, it seems that there is no way back. And I like Hold'em in mixes, but if you play it separately, it gets boring.
– Can you compare your feelings about winning then and now?
– The first bracelet is always the most desired, those emotions can hardly be compared with anything. This time it was also incredibly nice to win, but it is not felt so intensely.
There used to be award ceremonies, but this year, as far as I understand, there is no such thing, I was simply given the bracelet after the tournament. Perhaps this is due to the political situation, since at the ceremony the winners were given the opportunity to make a speech, and now, for many reasons, this can cause a scandal. Although, perhaps I am wrong and it was just a coincidence.
– Your wife, Ira, is a jeweler in Russia. What does she think about the quality of the WSOP bracelet and how it was made?
– I’ll give my word to my wife:
First of all, a WSOP bracelet is a pleasant emotion. And secondly, it is a real trophy. In the USA, there is a culture of "men's jewelry trophies" – championship rings, bracelets, club rings. They are always made by milling, and I came across such rings of former American soldiers in repair. I examined them closely and since then I believe that this is the ideal technology for a men's trophy. The design has clear shapes, the edges are perfectly even, and the ribs are rigid.
The WSOP bracelets are of low standard, 10 karats, meaning they are 41.6% gold, encrusted with onyx and rubies. If we talk about what could be improved, I would increase the standard and improve the design.
I can repeat any other jewelry, so you can't surprise me with anything jewelry, but you have to win a WSOP bracelet. That's why this is a special piece of jewelry and, one might say, the only jewelry gift my husband can give me, because I can make everything else myself. And, I take a tax from him on the winnings to buy precious stones for me and my daughters 😅
– You made it to another final table this series, in the $10,000 Stud Hi-Lo Championship. The field there was quite stellar…
– Yes, this tournament was much more interesting.
On the first day, we encountered an unusual, extremely aggressive amateur. For example, I remember the hand: on the 5th street, Yuki Zhu had (хх)2с3d6s open against our hero's (хх)TcJsA. The guys capped this street ( Editor's Note – they made the maximum number of bets ). On six, there are 2368 against TJAQ, capped again. On the 7th street, our hero bet, and Yuki Zhu simply called and showed 476 in the hole – a low of up to seven and a pair of sixes for high. Our hero showed 9J5, that is, just a pair of jacks, not a straight, not a set... However, this was enough to take the high. Yuki Zhu's jaw simply dropped and he could not lift it for a minute. It's a shame that we did not get to play with him for long – after half an hour, he was transferred.
On the third day I played with Hellmuth, Blom, Luke Schwartz and the future winner of the tournament.
Hellmuth played rather strangely. For example, he limped with a low card, and after completing, he often immediately gave up. He completed with a king, 4 called on the bring-in. On the third street (хх)Кd3h against (хх)4d5s, he check-calls. On the fifth street Kd3h4s against 4d5s8s, Hellmuth immediately openly folds, showing AK in closed hands. Similar stories happened to him more than once.
Blom was the loosest at the table with a reserve. He played like a monkey with a grenade. He bet 7th, and then immediately threw his cards into the muck when he got a call.
Hands in these games are quite difficult to describe, but I'll try to tell you the most interesting one:
Luke Schwartz opened with (xx)3, the rest of the guys with high cards folded. Hellmuth folded an Ace, Isildur called with (xx)5, I called the bring-in with (6h2h)2c.
Fourth Street:
I check with (6h2h)2c7h, Schwartz bets with 34, Blom calls with 53, I call.
Fifth Street:
I have 6h2h2c7h2s. Isildur catches a pair of fives and bets. I call, Schwartz raises with offsuit 346, Izya reraises. What do we do?
I thought for a couple of minutes and folded it) Schwartz had A2 in the closed ones (low 6432A), Blom had 53 (full house).
– Some regs think that limit tournaments are unbalanced. The stack is often so short that it is impossible to play a hand adequately. Do you share this opinion?
– Now they have made a more balanced structure, but before, it was like that. In the $10k championships everything is pretty smooth now, there is an opportunity to play normally, without fear of being eliminated because of one bad hand.
$1.5k tournaments are more turbocharged, of course, but there is still room for maneuver. At the beginning they give 10-12 big bets, that is enough for 2-2.5 hands, for a tournament with a thousand entries, this is quite normal.
We had already been playing for three days, and the heads-up was played out at the last level of the day; the tournament was almost extended to a fourth day.
By the way, this is what happened in 2018, we played for the bracelet on the fourth day and finished it in 20 minutes. When time was running out on the third day, we were offered a choice – an hour to finish the game or postpone it until tomorrow. I was already wildly exhausted and had trouble thinking, and my opponent saw this, so I insisted on playing. I wanted to postpone the heads-up until tomorrow, we could not agree, so we had to draw lots – I offered to draw a small card, he did not agree to this either and wanted to draw a big one. He draws and pulls out the king of diamonds! I did not count on my luck, so I asked the dealer to draw a card, she did and pulled out the king of hearts.
– God punished him for his intractability!
– Yeah! We met the next day, the stacks were about the same, but I was just closing everything, so we got it done in about 20 minutes.
– Has your attitude towards the WSOP changed over the years? Are there still romantic feelings or is it more of a trip to earn money?
– Maybe only the first trip was romantic, back in 2014-15. I remember how I came for the first time and didn’t understand anything –even how to withdraw money. I didn’t know that some points and cashbacks were accrued, or that weekends are hellishly expensive if you stay in a hotel. There was practically no information on the internet, and there was no one to really ask. I remember walking around with my mouth open and being surprised at every step.
I also remember how I registered for my first championship for $10k with these same romantic feelings. I don't remember how I got knocked out, but I didn't make it into the prizes and was left without any money. And I had no idea how to play anything further or where to find money.
– And how did you get out of that situation?
– I don't really remember, I think I just didn't play anything else at the WSOP. I had very little cash left, so I played cash and got a little bit of a boost, enough for a couple of inexpensive tournaments.
– I heard that you came to Vegas mainly to play cash.
– Yes, it's because of the 30% tax for people with a Russian passport. Before the trip, I didn't know for sure whether they would charge it, so it was a backup plan – to play only lower stakes tournaments, and grind cash the rest of the time.
– And they don’t take taxes from cash?
– Yes, only from tournaments where your prize money exceeded the buy-in by $5,000 or more are counted.
– What games did you manage to catch during this series?
– Played mostly 5 card Omaha bomb pot, stud hi-lo, mixed games, and BigO.
– Have you met people who don’t fully know the rules, or is this more of a myth?
– No, if a person sits down at a cash table, then he knows the rules. True, sometimes it happens that people choose completely unexpected hands for the game, but everyone understands the specifics of the game one way or another.
– What kind of people play limit games in Vegas?
– It turned out that limit games in Vegas, and in other states, are more popular than I thought. Many regulars said that they play different games in their home states. And so they all came here.
– Did you encounter any interesting characters at the tables?
– There was an interesting regular in the hi-lo stud. He always came to the game in full dress – in a brand new suit, in an expensive watch. In general, he tried hard to pretend that he was a respected person, although after half an hour at the table with him it was clear that he was a very skilled player, but you couldn't tell by his appearance, he looked more like a visiting businessman.
In fact, many stories were told at the tables, but I forgot all about them. Every day there are many new faces and events, you can't remember everything...
– How are you doing in cash?
– Not really that great, so I had to make up for it in tournaments.
At the beginning of the trip I played mixed games, and there were a lot of new games. I didn't perform very well in them, so I went into the minus.
– What new games?
– There is a variety of Archie called Ari.
It's a 5-card high-low draw with one community card on the board that can only make a high hand, not a low hand. I've gotten confused with it many times and still haven't figured out the strategy.
When I first came to Vegas, I said I would just sit and watch, and I skipped this game. It can cause a lot of misunderstandings – for example, a person has 2345K, and there is a 6 on the table. You think you have a straight to 6 and low, but in fact you only have a straight without a low, and a straight to high is usually not good in this game. In general, you hope for at least half the pot, but in fact you lose everything, this has happened to me more than once.
– Where and what are you playing online now?
– I hardly play. Phenom Poker appeared recently, I registered there only in March, so it’s hard to draw conclusions yet. Apart from WCOOP and SCOOP, there’s nothing really.
– How did the SCOOPs go?
– Played a little minus, but overall not bad, even won one cheap tournament (FLO8 for $11 with 1300 entries). True, I didn’t do very well in the expensive ones, I got knocked out on the bubble several times. Overall I didn’t play much, only a couple of weeks, and then I went to Vegas.
– What are your first impressions of Phenom?
– It is clear that the site is developing, and this inspires optimism. However, at medium limits, in my opinion, the rake is unbearable. Plus, there used to be a lot of lags – during the hand the site would freeze, and your cards would just go to the fold. Now, it seems, there are fewer lags.
– Do you think Phenom has a chance to get going?
– Judging by the last few weeks, the chances are good. The token rate is growing, there is a lot of advertising at the WSOP, plus Ducalis is actively promoting it in the Russian segment. The appearance of tournaments should attract a lot of people ( Ed. – this part of the forecast has not yet come true; no one is playing in tournaments, although the overall traffic continues to grow )
– What have you already managed to play there?
– My core disciplines rarely get played. I also don’t like that you have to sit at the table and wait – if someone sits down, antes are immediately placed and the game begins. And I don’t want to spend half a day at the computer waiting. I periodically open a table, sit for half an hour, and then go do my own thing. Essentially, I play Razz and mixed games there.
– You didn't answer my game question about how much you'll win at this WSOP, so as not to jinx it. It's clear that this is a joke, but do you have any other superstitions that you observe before important tournaments or second days?
– There is such a sign – don’t tell how much you won in a certain period, because later you will lose more. I experienced it myself. Back in my student years, I bragged to my father that I won $10k in a week. And he thought about it and replied: “I didn’t f*ck it up.” Well, and the next week, of course, I lost twice as much. I remembered this lesson for the rest of my life and don’t brag about my winnings anymore.
– How do you prepare for the second days or important tournaments?
– It’s very difficult in Vegas – a 12-hour gaming day, you finish at night, you only have time to have a snack and get some sleep, if you’re lucky. In the morning you take a shower, have breakfast and go back to the casino.
On rare weekends I played tennis with Owais Ahmed and Ryan Lang. I was also planning to play with Jerry Wong, but it was funny: everyone had already been eliminated from the HORSE tournament, and I was short, so we gathered in the evening for tennis. I told him: "I'll let you know when I'm eliminated." But then I got going, got through to the second day and didn't let you know. The next day I was again at the bottom of the chip count, Wong wrote: "If you're eliminated, come to tennis" – "Okay, I'll write when I'm eliminated." And again he didn't write anything... The next day I was no longer invited.
– We haven't seen each other for ages, and you haven't changed much, at least judging by your victory photos. What's your secret?
– You caught me off guard) I try to do sports and have a positive attitude towards life. And I don't play Hold'em!
