Last week, GG Poker launched the documentary series Online Poker Millionaires. The first episode featured Alex Theologis (Pwndidi).
To support the project, Alex organized an AMA session on Reddit.
— Hi Alex, Daniel Negreanu here, I enjoyed the piece was very interesting!
Question: I notice you were randomizing online, do you think the majority of players in the high stakes tourney live scene also randomize?
Hey Daniel, thank you for commenting and I'm happy to hear you enjoyed the episode!
I think the importance of randomizing in a live tournament is less significant as you can gather more information but also play a significantly smaller number of hands. When randomizing a decision it means that both options are pretty much same EV, so any sort of hint you may have (sizing tell, live read, player tendency etc) will greatly sway the decision to one of the 2 options. But then, even readless, it will be much tougher to get exploited if you always lean one way in a live setting as the number of times you will play this spot will be very limited (for example, on a mixed sizing cbet board, if you never put strong hands in the small sizing, it will be easier to notice online with thousands of hands played and more showdowns than live, where you dont even have to showdown a bunch of times you lose).
That said, I still think randomizing will be useful when you have no real reason to deviate, especially on spots that are quite common (for example 3betting AJ in an ICM spot without any reads on the opponent. If the solver is mixing these hands and you always take the 3bet option, it will be easier to spot as FTs are televised and opens a door for being very exploitable).
— How should a serious part-time player with a solid income outside of poker think about bankroll management and shot-taking differently from a full-time pro?
The main difference is the ability to replenish bankroll outside of poker earnings. For a professional, very often poker bankroll=life bankroll, so being very cautious with management is crucial to avoid going broke. If there is a solid income outside of poker, then I think it makes sense to come up with a % of your income you are comfortable dedicating to poker and plan your entries and shot-taking accordingly.
— If you were designing a 6-month study plan for someone who already studies seriously (solver work, courses, videos etc.) but wants to level up to high-stakes decision-making, what areas would you focus on most heavily?
This is tough to answer without knowing specifics, but focusing in improving areas that occur most often is generally a good approach, so for example playing BTN vs BB in single raised pots is much more important than knowing cbet strategies in 4bet squeezed pots. Other than that, I'd say ICM is extremely crucial as that's where all the money is.
— Do you currently run or coach for any MTT stables, or collaborate with groups that take on developing players?
I do not run a stable myself but I do coach for Pocarr (international) and Flow (Brazil). I also do seminars for BBZ, which has a staking team, but my seminars are accessible to their subscribers regardless of being part of the stable or not. As far as I know all 3 are looking to expand their rosters!
— Hi Alex, big fan! Do you think it's easier to win a bracelet or a 10 pancake bet at the Wynn?
I know people that have won bracelets. I know no one that has eaten 10 Wynn pancakes. Make of that what you wish!
— I'm a live cash pro looking for ways to improve my game. What study habits have you implemented and how do you know what to study?
Hello! While cash games are not really my area of expertise, I think prioritizing scenarios that occur more often is a reasonable approach. Then, doing a leak finder to investigate areas you may be lacking and focusing on them. But for live, I think it is also very crucial to study exploits, so node locking certain pre/postflop decisions based on how you think different player types will play and find out what the best adjustments would be, as I imagine most of your EV will come from playing against weaker players.
— KOs, PKOs and mystery bounty MTTs are becoming more common both online and live. How has this changed how you approach MTTs and how do you see MTT formats developing in the future?
For me personally, I was always very excited for PKOs so not too drastic changes, but overall, I think it is important to dedicate more study time to the specifics of bounty MTTs as they are becoming a bigger and bigger portion of the schedule.
As for future MTT formats, it looks like the more gambley oriented formats are very popular with recreational players, like the mystery bounties, so I'd expect to see more similar formats being developed.
— How do you mentally shift between playing online vs live formats when the games play so differently? eg. playing a $100 online MTT is a very different experience to a live $1K.
For a lot of people it's helpful to play a "warm up" live tournament first, to get more in rhythm. Watching some footage on youtube can also help with the transition!
— Have you had any 'aha' breakthrough moments of understanding when playing, studying or discussing poker? Or has your progress been incremental?
While I'd say my progress has been incremental, there have certainly been many, many "Aha!" moments in my career. Perhaps the biggest one that comes to mind was.. in 2017 I want to say, before I joined BitB (a stable I was in for 18 months), when I had my HH reviewed by the 3 owners (pads, european, elmerix). These guys were so far ahead of me at the time and I had no idea! So with charts and solvers being less accessible back then, hearing that I could defend the big blind with J5s against a HJ rfi was a real eye opener, silly as it may sound, haha.
— After your ‘lightbulb’ moment, did you set yourself goals?
Yes, for sure. I've always had a more short-term goal oriented approach, and of things I can control. So I would have a goal of what I'd need to do the following day, week, month, but not really set super specific goals for years in advance, as a lot of things outside my control can prevent me from accomplishing them. Also, unlike many of my peers, I don't really like setting monetary goals as winning/losing in the short term is not really under my control. For example, during my time in BitB, a lot of people would say "I want to make x profit this year" which I always found counter productive. Setting a goal that is not in your power to control seems wrong – I'd have much rather said "this year I will study for x amount of hours and play y number of MTTs, therefore maximizing my EV".
— I always wanted to ask a high stakes reg player. Is the edge that big between reg players at the high stakes ( I don't want details just a yes or no would be fine hehe) ? Watching some players mass re-entering in a field full of regs and this has triggered this question to me.
The magic of it is that the answer is unclear. We had a discussion at the 100k HR in Malta about what people's perceived ROI was in that tournament, and based on the responses, some people would have to be losing over 40-50% ROI in order for the numbers to add up – which was certainly not the case. So some people definitely overestimate their abilities (hey, could be myself too!) which is what keeps a lot of the reggier games running. Short answer : no one knows, each pro has their own opinion on the situation and act accordingly.
— You joined the high stakes smoothly boosting your bankroll etc or you were a reg at a certain stake and had a big score that helped you go to the higher stakes?
Long story short, I was struggling transitioning from mid to higher stakes and that is when I joined BitB (early 2018?). In these 18 months I was able to both build a roll and improve as a player, and was able to play high stakes on my own afterwards. So I think the answer is somewhere in between! No real bink that elevated my bankroll, but also it didn't take a very long time either.
— Any hobbies? You have any pets?
I'd love to get a dog, I am thinking about it so often but I find it very challenging with all the poker traveling, as I am gone from home for at least half the year. I'd say my hobbies are rather mundane, haha : traveling, watching series/movies, clubbing, nice restaurants.
— What are the biggest mistakes people make at low-mid stakes live and online? And what adjustments would you recommend. (You probably haven't played these in a while, but maybe some general tips)
I have a lot of free time to study each day as I WFH, which specific parts of the game trees should someone spend the most time on?
I think one of the biggest mistakes I see is focusing too much on details, or advanced/obscure topics while still lacking the fundamentals. Knowing how to play the most basic spots will be way more significant for your EV than studying and finding some obscure check raise jam on the river. So being very good at your preflop ranges, cbet strategies, turn barrels etc can go a very long way.
I think the above already answers your second question a bit, but basically, the spots that occur the most often.
— What is one habit that you think is underrated but essential for long-term success in poker?
Hello! If I had to pick one, I'd say being critical of yourself more than critical of others. Understanding when you make a mistake or underperform and working at fixing it (i.e. be mad at yourself for bluffing and not at your opponent for calling J high).
— What do you think is the most efficient way to learn a solid strategy you can fall back on in any spot, even situations where you haven't specifically studied for them? Systematically study nodes and look at all kinds of board textures, reviewing random marked hands and looking for concepts, watching vids, etc?
That's a complicated question and while I'm afraid I might be repeating myself, I'll say just having very strong fundamentals. Understanding how the game works at a basic level (ranges, pot odds, combos etc) and having very strong knowledge of the baseline strategies can help a lot maneuvering unknown spots, as you can just extrapolate from what you know. That said, I still tag a lot of hands every time I play to review after – probably over 30 hands per session, both chipEV and ICM.
As for if there is a framework, yes, but it depends on the spot. In my earlier years, I set up a number of steps to go through in each tough decision, so as to make sure I'm not skipping some information or missing a piece of the puzzle. The set of questions is not the same in every spot so it's hard for me to be more precise here.
— Have you ever had periods where you were deep in downswing or debt/makeup and had to push through on your way up?
End of 2024 I had a +25k month and decided to move up to play 215-500s I was studying roughly 14 hours per week and playing Thursday/sunday. Within 6 months I torched my entire bankroll and ended up borrowing around 20k instead of starting again or moving down stakes, convinced that with the study and time I’m putting in, the downswing will pass and I’ll hit a big score. It’s now at a point where it’s becoming mentally hard to keep going. I have tried to drop back down to 22-55s but the motivation slips seeing the prize pools so low, knowing shipping one won’t make a dint in my makeup.
Yes, for sure, this is a struggle that almost every player has faced so you are not alone! While it can look hard at times, I'd advise you to focus on what you can control : studying, playing high enough volume, controlling tilt and doing your best.
Imo wanting to clear makeup and thinking of how much is up top in a tournament is a bit of a mentality leak. Clearing makeup is something that will come eventually, but shouldn't be constantly on your mind. If you think the higher buyins are perhaps a bit too tough, or you don't feel that comfortable playing them, then dropping stakes sounds like a great idea until you are ready. But the goal isn't to clear makeup – it is to keep on improving and increasing your EV as much as you can! Makeup is just a number that will go down eventually, but not if you push it too hard. That can lead to you registering bad tournaments, or making suboptimal decisions (like gambling too much in high $ev spots) in hopes of clearing it.
I think maybe looking to book a session with a mental game expert could be a good investment, as they will be able to provide better advise than me in this area.
— Do you carry resentment that your specific path in poker goes mostly without recognition?
The eyeballs go towards the live poker achievers or the content creators. While someone carving out elite online EV like yourself is barely recognized. Or are you just happy to make your money and fly under the radar?
Resentment, definitely not. I was never into poker for the recognition or fame. If it ends up coming along, then great. I enjoy the competition and the compensation, but being recognized/famous etc is not necessarily something I set out to do, so I definitely have no negative feelings about someone that did.
— Do you take regular breaks? Like regular days off during the week, sometimes taking a week/weeks off and do you sometimes just don't feel like playing on a particular day (even when you planned to) and if so, how do you usually handle this?
This is one of the areas I am trying to improve on, as I feel like I am working all the time, which can sometimes result in lack of focus or laziness etc. As for not feeling like playing on a particular day, unless there is a significant reason for this (i.e. I have a high fever, or jetlag etc), I don't really listen to myself. I see poker as my job and taking a day off because "I didn't feel like working" doesn't seem right, work isn't always supposed to be superduperfun. I know I am in the minority that thinks that way, but it is what it is.
— If you would have to start from scratch again, would you still pursue poker or something else? Why?
Very interesting question. Knowing how things turned out I would say yes, but potentially change some things, especially when it comes to health/fitness. When I started playing poker professionally, I could have never imagined how far I would go, so I'm definitely grateful for that and I'd make the same choice again and again.
