17 Nov 08

plaukas: Cycling, Math and Live Events

The Community team was once again dominating the Battle of the Donkeys, especially thanks to plaukas. Cardbender got a hold of him for an interview, in which the young Lithuanian speaks about the similarities between poker and math, PokerStrategy's contribution to his play and more.

Last week was again dominated by the Community team and plaukas was one of its members, the most important actually, as he managed to get the best rank and win some money as well. As usual, Cardbender did not miss the opportunity and got hold of the man of the day for an interview.


This interview was conducted by Cardbender

Cardbender: Hello plaukas, congratulations on your 93rd place tournament finish and 1st place BotD finish this week.

plaukas: Hello, thank you :)

Cardbender: To start things off, can you tell the readers a little about yourself?

plaukas: I'm a 20 year-old student from Lithuania. I study actuarial mathematics, so that involves quite a lot of statistics and math which I enjoy. In my free time, I love to cycle and to travel abroad.

Cardbender: Wow, actuarial mathematics does involve a lot of statistics; do you find your education has helped improve your poker performance?

plaukas: I don't think I use much from my studies because in poker you only need simple statistics, but in a way you can say that I enjoy poker because I like math.

Cardbender: You mentioned you enjoy traveling; is there a place you've enjoyed the most?

plaukas: This summer I went to Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei and it was awesome; I want to go back to Southeast Asia. I really enjoy those countries and their friendly people.

Cardbender: Very nice, I’ll have to put those places on my list! What kind of cycling do you do: mountain/touring?

plaukas: I enjoy touring, nothing big but I had some trips a few days long. We plan the trips in such a way that we can get to villages where our friends/grandparents live, so we have a place to sleep.

Cardbender: That’s great, have you encountered any funny situations on you tours?

plaukas: Well, we have been lost a few times; once, we got ourselves lost when we decided to take a shortcut via a forest road. Also usual stuff occurs - like flat tires in the pouring rain, etc… so nothing big I guess :)

Cardbender: That was an impressive climb to win the BotD. How did you feel about your play last week?

plaukas: I'm glad I was calm and cool-headed throughout the tourney. I gave one bad beat but I think I had better than average cards, so all in all, luck helped me out I guess. I'm not sure how many I received, not many probably. I was lucky because I was rarely in risky situations that required all my chips.

Cardbender: How did your poker career start?

plaukas: I first got into the poker world when I saw a banner almost 3 years ago and I registered at a poker room, where I played freerolls and play money tables. After a while I lost interest and came back only after I saw Pokerstrategy. I started playing for cash after I received $50 starting capital from Pokerstrategy.

Cardbender: Do you play live games?

plaukas: I play home games with my friends, but I haven't played any live games in casinos because the legal age in my country is 21.

Cardbender: Since you've joined Pokerstrategy, have you been a successful player?

plaukas: I think so but it's hard to say for sure because I've tried a few different fields: SSS, SNGs and now I love SH NL tables :) I don't have massive amounts of hands in any of them.

Cardbender: Which sites do you play at now?

plaukas:I play mostly at PartyPoker and sometimes I play tournaments on PokerStars; it's a pity I'm not tracked to stars, I hope some day they allow re-tracking :)

Cardbender: I agree! PokerStars would benefit greatly if they allowed us to re-track. I’m sure many Pokerstrategy players would switch to their site. Is there anything in particular that Pokerstrategy has helped improve your game?

plaukas: Of course! Practically everything! Most importantly, it helped me to get out of my results-oriented thinking. For instance, I don't tilt after a losing session – instead, I review my plays, find my leaks, etc… so Pokerstrategy has made me think more about the hands I play.

Cardbender: Great approach! Where do you see your poker career heading? Do you have any short/long term goals?

plaukas: I don't have short term goals because I play poker only several hours a week. In the long run, I want to move up on the NL SH tables and increase my BR so I can play in satellites for live events :)

Cardbender: Have you attended coaching sessions or been involved with the hand evaluation threads?

plaukas: Yeah, now that I play SH NL, I try to attend all SH NL coachings and use the hand evaluation forum to post hands that give me some doubts. I also try to read other people's threads in the evaluation forum as well.

Cardbender: A smart plan! Sounds like you’re on the right track to poker success!

plaukas: I hope your words come true :)

Cardbender: Do you have any pre-tourney rituals or superstitions?

plaukas: Not really, but I like to make a cup of tea before the tournament :)

Cardbender: You mention you were from Lithuania, what does Lithuania have to offer?

plaukas: If you visit sometimes, I suggest going to the Curonian Split.

Cardbender: What’s that? It sounds like a gymnastics move.

plaukas: Haha, It's basically a strip of sand in the sea, four kilometers wide. It's really beautiful and ecologically diverse.

Cardbender: Yes that does sound like a nice place to check out! Tony G was born in Lithuania, by the way. Is he your favorite player?

plaukas: I like Daniel Negreanu a lot. His play is exceptional.
 
Cardbender: And of course cause he’s Canadian! Do you have any favorite sports teams you want to give a shout out to?

plaukas: Lithuanians are very good at basketball, but I really hope our football representatives win something, they get better each year! Go Lithuania *\o/*

Cardbender: Yes, Lithuania does have a great basketball program; it was nice to see them lay the beat down on team USA in Athens 2004 Olympic summer games. I hope they do it again!

plaukas: Yeah, that was amazing!

Cardbender: Now for everyone’s favorite “Pick The Prize” !!!
You won 34.81$ this week in BotD. If you had to spend you winnings, which one of the following items would you purchase?

A used USB toaster	New swim suit	8hrs of triangle lesson

plaukas: Wow, you can get 8hr lesson for 34 bucks?! Yet, the swim suit and triangle lesson have to wait for my next cash because the USB Toaster is simply amazing – I could have toast with my tea during tournaments!

Cardbender: Haha, I don’t know man... that swim suit will surely get you a few phone numbers. Before we end the interview, is there anything you would like to add?

plaukas: Use all Pokerstrategy’s material that is offered, especially the hand evaluation forums and make good decisions at the tables! Also participate in the BotD, it's great fun!

Cardbender: Thanks very much for taking the time to participate in this interview, plaukas, and best of luck in the future.

plaukas:Thanks!