How PokerStrategist CoreySteel became a PokerStars Team Online Pro

We find out how our English community member Luka Kovac became the latest player sponsored by Team Online and he discusses the state of Fixed Limit Hold'em.

"I got Team Online because I am active in the community"

PokerStrategy.com: Congrats on becoming a member of  PokerStars Team Online. A lot of our members would love that. Did you get it because of how active you are in the poker community?  

coreysteel: You're absolutely right. I mean, to be honest, I didn't even think to apply for the first time, but then I thought that, "Yeah sure, I could do something." 

I'm already active on the number of forums. I was active on PokerStrategy before, I'm active on TwoPlusTwo. I do like to make videos, I do like talk about poker, so I applied, and here I am now.

PokerStrategy.com: Are you expecting it to be quite an involved role? 

coreysteel: They're likely to set a lot of expectations, it's a bit like a marriage if you want. I do expect to be active on social media, like Twitter, to be connecting to people via videos, chatting on the tables etc. Being active, giving advice, giving back to the community, I'm sure I will record some videos, giving players some tips, commenting on their plays, and stuff like that.

PokerStrategy.com: It must have helped being from Slovenia, as that's a growing market, right?

coreysteel: As small as we are, we are really active in poker. We go to three or four different poker communities like poker forums, people are joining live tournaments a lot, so we are particularly active, and we are pretty good too, I must say.

PokerStrategy.com: Slovenia is an amazing place, I got engaged there. You are 40 minutes away from sun and snow at any time. 

coreysteel: Exactly. I'm from South Central Slovenia, from Ljubljana, and I have 20 minutes drive to ski. I have one hour drive to the sea. I have one hour drive to the east for planes and beautiful terrain, so it's very amazing. It's an amazing country, really beautiful. If anyone is considering visiting Slovenia, they really should.

PokerStrategy.com: You are a former competitive skier, can you tell us more about that?

coreysteel: I started skiing when I was young. I did skiing for about eight to ten years. I even went to a sports gymnasium here in Slovenia, but then I just decided to quit. To be honest, I just wasn't good enough, so I didn't make it to the national team or anything like that, but I did learn a lot while skiing. I did learn about discipline and work, and stuff like that, which helps me in poker.

PokerStrategy.com: It seems a lot of successful players have a background in another form of competition. 

coreysteel: Oh yeah, sure. I just love competition. You can gain so much stuff from other things that you can incorporate into poker that it's really amazing.

Just like poker, you have to work hard, you have to be disciplined, you have to think fast, your reactions have to be quick, and that helps in poker today.

"Fixed Limit is a game made for recreational players"

PokerStrategy.com: You are a Fixed Limit player, what are the games like these days? 

coreysteel: Oh yeah, sure, money's still to be made. The guys who stick with Fixed Limit Hold'em, they are just like hardcore fans. The player pool is shrinking, but there's still enough players, enough tables, and enough money to be made for sure. I hope that I can be as active as I want to be and help to bring some more players to Fixed Limit.

PokerStrategy.com: In our recent interview with Lee Jones he wanted to bring back Limit because it favours recreational players. 

coreysteel: Everyone who started at Fixed Limit did so because you can control your bankroll. You can't go all-in and lose it in a few hands. You learn about pot odds, about outs, stuff like that, so it is game made for recreational players. 

PokerStrategy.com: Is Limit solved like some people claim?

coreysteel: It's more solved than any other game, just because there are not as many different situations. But the game changes, the game evolves, you have to keep up with Fixed Limit or else you fall behind, so if that's true, that means that, no, it can't be really solved.  There are very different variations of style play that are profitable to Fixed Limit, so it's not very solvable.

PokerStrategy.com: What are the biggest errors No Limit players make when they try Fixed Limit?

coreysteel: The biggest problem probably is that they're there just too loose. They're too loose and too passive.

PokerStrategy.com: What would you say is the lowest level a player could play Fixed Limit professionally for? 

coreysteel: If you can be a Supernova on PokerStars, you can easily do it at $1/$2 tables, but you have to grind, a lot. I'd say $2/$4, realistically, you can have a career there.

"My poker career started with Tell-a-Friend money"

PokerStrategy.com: You've been a member of PokerStrategy.com almost from the beginning, tell us about your history with us. 

coreysteel: I didn't know how to play poker before I joined PokerStrategy.com. It really helped me a lot. Reading Fixed Limit articles and progressing through VIP limits from Bronze to Silver, Gold, and then Diamond later. 

PokerStrategy.com: And your bankroll started from some Tell-a-Friend money you made? 

coreysteel: Yeah. My first bankroll was like $50 for some sites, but then I kind of quit poker. I just didn't play for half a year, but I did manage to get some Tell-a-Friend money. I think it was $100 or something like that. I did a lot of referrals, so I had probably like $200 from referrals at PokerStrategy.com, and then I started with that money and basically here I am now.

PokerStrategy.com: I was looking at your PokerStrategy blog from 2006 and one of your early goals was to qualify for a $215 WCOOP event - that seems pretty modest now. 

coreysteel: Yeah, sure. It's quite terrific to see how I struggled, how different goals I had back then to now. When you hit another goal, you just have to make another one step by step. You have to progress through the games, to do limits. You hit a $500 bankroll, then I hit a $1,000 bankroll, etc. 

PokerStrategy.com: You can check out Luka's new PokerStrategy.com blog here. 

See more of our recent interviews with the biggest names in poker

Barry Carter is the editor of PokerStrategy.com and the co-author of The Mental Game of Poker 1 & 2. He has been working in the poker industry for nine years and in 2013 won the APAT Award for Best Poker Media Provider. You can learn more about his work here.  Follow Barry Carter on Twitter l Follow Barry Carter on Google+

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