Becoming a micro player......literally

In the Community Weekly Round-up Daniel Smyth tells how he won a chance to get a micro sized 3D model of himself created by PokerStars.

Me and MicroMillions two-time POY Marcin Horecki

It's not often that you get a chance to play for a mini-experience with one of the largest online poker sites in the world, but last week I was fortunate enough to be in such a position.

Being part of the poker media often has its perks and on Thursday I was able to enjoy one of those when I travelled to London to meet  PokerStars pro Marcin Horecki for a day of micro-themed fun. Now, in this instance I don't mean the entertainment was limited; more that the day was designed to celebrate MicroMillions 7.

To book my place on the train to London I simply had to dispatch with a selection of fellow poker journalists in a media tournament and, thankfully, I was able to do this whilst upholding the integrity of PokerStrategy.com's reputation for excellence.

Once I'd arrived in London the first port of call was the iMakr shop which brands itself as the "world's largest 3D printing store". Having previously only heard of 3D printing on the news I was intrigued to take a look at the process and once I arrived I found a similarly interested Marcin Horecki checking out the line-up of machines. 

In amongst the smell of heated plastic and multi-coloured figurines Marcin and I were greeted by a collection of PokerStars employees who led us to the photo booth where 43 cameras were poised to capture all of our bad sides in HD quality.  

Once inside the booth I decided to pick the most clichéd pose I could think of (yes, like any red blooded man I posed with my fists up like a boxer) and waited for the pictures to be snapped. Around 20 minutes and numerous awkward poses later the process was complete and my image was ready to be transformed into a 3D action figure.

The upswing of having a life-like model cast in my image was temporarily dampened by the news that I'd have to wait a week for it to be completed. However, in an effort to whet my appetite, I was shown some examples of what my model would eventually look like. (See the image on the left)

After the 3D imaging Marcin and I were then taken on an impromptu tour of London's diamond district courtesy of PokerStars' Mark Stuart, before we all dived into the closest watering hole we could find. With the drink starting to flow the conversation touched on a number of topics before Marcin explained his love of driving.

I'm going to be immortalised in  one of these 3D printouts

Despite spending the bulk of his day grinding online, Marcin apparently enjoys hooking his iPhone up to a system in his car and engaging in Fast and Furious style jaunts around Poland. Explaining that he's managed to hit speeds in excess of 150 mph, Marcin certainly crushed the image of all poker players being daylight hating geeks who care more about EV than horsepower.

During the idle periods of dinner I managed to squeeze some nuggets of strategy advice from Marcin regarding the MicroMillions in the hope I could replicate at least some of his past successes.

Unfortunately, in my early outings such optimism has been severely crushed and I've found out to my cost that bluffing jack-high boards against players without the ability to fold Q-J in the early stages isn't the way to go.

Fortunately, I've already registered for a slew of MicroMillions tournaments over the coming days so maybe I can at least notch up a min-cash. Indeed, if I'm to take one piece of advice from my day with a MicroMillions champion it would be that late registration is your friend during the MicroMillions and it's important not to burn yourself out before the blinds start to really matter.

For more MicroMillions tips from Marcin Horecki, check out our news section later this week when he explains how folding kings pre-flop can help increase your chances of success. 

Images courtesy of Louis Headlam. 

Thread of the week

Micro stakes players, this is one to book mark for the next few weeks and months. 

Our very own w34z3l is going to be releasing a six-max microstakes coaching series where he will be giving away free coaching sessions. 

In his own words:

"It will cover all essential basic topics, such as preflop strategy and use of a HUD. It also aims to shed a fresh light on areas where commonly advised strategy is outdated. For example – modern understanding of blind defense, 3betting strategy, and playing in 4bet pots."

Subscribe to his thread for more details. 

LOL of the week

No contest what wins this this week. Obviously it's a rip-off of the Jimmy Kimmel sketch, but the format works nonetheless:

Running hot

These are some of the highlights of the week from the last seven days at PokerStrategy.com:

• For the second week in a row, a PokerStrategist won the Sunday Million last week. 

• Plus, we interviewed the man who won it the week before, suppenkasper. 

• We spoke to PokerStrategist Luka Kovac about how he became a PokerStars Team Online Pro. 

• If you missed our webinar with Steven McLoughlin of PokerTracker, you can watch the recording. 

• Planning on a live poker trip? Check out our live satellite guide. 

Coming up

If you stick around this week, you can expect:

• Barry Carter has lined up some great interviews, including a big name from America and I of course interviewed Marcin Horecki of MicroMillions fame. 

• There will be news about a change to our regular daily poker comics. 

• Live coaching from Unam, UriPeleg & BogdanPS

• Videos from Splitsuit, CollinMoshman, & new coach Lackgoo.

Daniel Smyth has been working in the poker industry for six years as both a player and writer. He currently has a costly penchant for PLO and provides daily content for PokerStrategy.com. You can learn more about Daniel by clicking here. Follow Daniel Smyth on Twitter l Follow Daniel Smyth on Google+