"Zoom makes it easier to get SuperNova Elite playing PLO" - Roy Bhasin
We chat to PokerStars Team Online Pro and Sunday Million host 'GodLikeRoy' to learn about getting to SuperNova Elite playing PLO.
"It's getting harder to find motivation for SuperNova Elite"
PokerStrategy.com: You once again got SuperNova Elite last year. Is it getting easier or harder?
godlikeroy: In general terms it’s getting easier. I’ve done it before, I know what’s involved, what to expect, and have the confidence behind me in knowing that I can get there again. My bankroll is larger now, so downswings and break-even stretches are less worrisome and concerning than they were in my first year.
The only way it might get harder is that the initial drive and motivation isn’t as large as it was during the first year. It was initially a HUGE goal of mine (and I even had a small prop bet involved) on making SNE that first year. Now it’s more of an expected goal – but it’s a goal nonetheless, and one that I treat seriously and fully intend to fulfil.
PokerStrategy.com: How have you planned for it this year, knowing what you know from several successful years of getting it before?
godlikeroy: I knew that the beginning of my year was going to be busy with live tournaments and other travel so I planned that as ‘time off’ and anticipated that I would need to play catch-up in the later months of the year.
That’s not something I would generally recommend, but knowing what I do about my ability to put in large volume when it matters, I feel comfortable and confident that it will work out fine for me. My 100 hours in seven days challenge from late last year partly served to help plan for the larger volume amounts I will need to put in during shorter time spans this year.
PokerStrategy.com: How do you deal with burnout? How do you plan rest?
godlikeroy: Burnout is an issue I have had trouble with in the past. I used to just play, play, play and get to the point where I could play no more and have to take time off. Or, if I did continue to play, my play would rapidly deteriorate.
I did a lot of work with my mental game coach, jaredtendler, on the issue of burnout, and one thing we have done is to implement exactly what was asked in this question – “planned rest”. Trying to take at least one full day off poker each week, as well as some vacations where I try to get in some R&R and force myself to stay away from all things poker-related.
"Zoom PLO has really helped to get SuperNova Elite"
PokerStrategy.com: How do you prepare before you play to focus for long periods of time?
godlikeroy: I’m a huge proponent of warming up and cooling down. My warm-up changes from time to time, but things that it would include might be getting in a healthy light meal, some meditation, reviewing my strategic plan for the session, checking out the tables I am about to play, and looking at any notes I might have on opponents I’m about to face.
Cooling down is a bit quicker and easier in general and basically involves logging my results into a spreadsheet. I focus more on my level of play, length of session, quality of focus, difficulty of games and my gauge on how well I ran rather than actual monetary results or EV (though I do still keep those in the spreadsheet).
PokerStrategy.com: What’s the traffic like for PLO on a SNE mission? Do you have to play every game going?
godlikeroy: The PLO traffic seems seasonal. There is always enough traffic for someone wanting to get SNE if you’re willing to play $1/$2 and $0.5/$1 but I personally prefer to stick to $2/$4 and higher. Because of that it’s important to play during peak hours when there are plenty of tables running, as things can get fairly dead during the off-peak hours.
One great new thing that has happened over the last 4-6 months is the amount of volume the Zoom pools are seeing, specifically the $2.50/$5 level. It runs almost 24/7 and often with 60-100 players, which means that a player going for SNE could almost single-handedly make it playing only in that game.
"PokerStars Team Online isn't simply about being the best"
PokerStrategy.com: I've just written that Team Online members have worked hard to get their role, why do you think you got it?
godlikeroy: I think my blog and social media presence was a large part of it. The fact those things didn’t focus on ‘just poker’ also probably help. I like talking about food and travel a lot and they both seem to generate a lot of interest.
Being a part of Team PokerStars Online isn’t simply about being the best of the best (I don’t claim to be the cream of the PLO crop) but about having a well-rounded life supported in large part by poker, and that’s a role that I like to think I fill fairly well.
I also think that one of the goals of the team is having a large reach – a worldwide presence representing all facets of poker (after all, “We are Poker”). Being a PLO specialist from Australia certainly put me in a niche position and that may have helped too.
Well, that was the honest and modest answer. Personally, I think it was my rugged good looks that binked me a spot on the team.
PokerStrategy.com: Thanks Roy, good luck hosting the Sunday Million tomorrow.
Play the Sunday Million tomorrow.
Roy Bhasin is hosting one of the Sunday Million this weekend on 
PokerStars at 14:30 ET.
As part of his hosting duties he will have a $215 bounty on his head and will be helping the final table arrange any deals they may want to make.
It is the biggest regular weekly tournament in the world and has a $215 buy-in and a $1 million guarantee.
You can win your ticket for as little as $1 in regular satellites around the clock at PokerStars.
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.
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