"Hard work beats talent" - interview and free video from 'bettinglife'

Antonio "bettinglife" Ramalho from our Portuguese community joins us to talk about Supernova Elite, talent, creating good rituals, and hyper turbos. Plus enjoy a free coaching video from him.

"Supernova Elite was easier the second time"

'bettinglife'

PokerStrategy.com: You have just achieved Supernova Elite for the second time, was it harder because you were still recovering from the first time?

bettinglife: Not really - the first time, I finished in November so I spent December partying and on January 1 my batteries were already recharged. I was ready to grind, I was more motivated than ever; it was much easier.

Plus when I was grinding in 2012 I was playing $15 hyper turbos; by December 2012 I was playing up to $200 buy-ins.

Plus I had raised my standards - it was super natural because I developed good rituals, I even had lots of time to spend with family and friends, having fun and even learning music. 

PokerStrategy.com: Do you set a monthly target for your VPPs and stick to a schedule that gives you time to spare?

bettinglife: I had a plan to finish in nine months, but I took ten months because I travelled a bit more and played an EPT. These next two months I am preparing for 2014 because I am making a new challenge for myself, but that is still a surprise. I will be preparing technically by improving my leaks and my mental game. 

"It is all about maximising my hourly rate"

A still from Antonio's PokerStars video submission

PokerStrategy.com: Some people suggest Supernova Elite is a good way for a break-even player to make a lot of money, do you think that's possible or should you always try and make profit at the tables as a priority?

bettinglife: At these stakes I am always trying to maximise my hourly rate, for me that is what really matters. I am up pre-rakeback overall - I probably not in the $500 games pre rakeback , but they still make me more money than the $60 games where I am up pre-rakeback.  

PokerStrategy.com: How important is regular rest for a Supernova Elite attempt?

bettinglife: It is very tiring grinding three or four days in a row, but I always have at least two days of rest. For example I always play Thursday - Sunday, then I rest on Monday. On Mondays I go to the gym, spend time with family, and identify leaks I can work on. On Tuesdays I usually work on those things away from the table. 

PokerStrategy.com: You play 6-max hyper turbos, which some people think are zero edge games. Are they?

bettinglife: It is all about comparing yourself to your opponents. I am a much better player today than last year, and my results have been the same, which suggests the games have evolved a lot in the last year. It is very hard to beat mid and high stakes because the players work so hard.

For me now it is all about game selecting and time selecting. By time selecting, I mean trying to figure out the best times to grind, like low peak times where you will find one or two fish in the $30 or $60 games, but at high stakes maybe only one fish per game. 

"Hard work is 95%, talent is 5%"

Playing at the EPT

PokerStrategy.com: You can go through some crazy swings in hyper turbos, how do you handle them - you can't take a break when you are trying to get Supernova Elite.

bettinglife: It is all about practice for me. Last year I went through a $20,000 downswing and it really affected me a lot. My parents said I seemed a bit lost, I was very emotional. Now I have had five $20,000 downswings - I am in one right now - and I feel super good. It's all about experience, practice, trusting your game, and giving your best. 

PokerStrategy.com: You have a very informative blog where you recently posted that hard work beats talent in poker. I guess that is definitely true for Supernova Elite? 

bettinglife: I think up until a certain point that hard work is the most important thing. For me so far I think hard work is maybe 95% and talent 5%. SuperNova Elite is all about hard work because it's a lot of hours you put in, you have to be self-motivated and have a lot of discipline. I play the highest stakes for hyper turbo sit and gos, I haven't yet found where talent plays a part, I am yet to find a buy-in level where I say "OK, I can't beat this, talent is demanded".

Let's say you have the five most hard working players in the world and they play nosebleed cash games, maybe talent takes part there, but if you take the top 100 in the world and you want to be the 100th, you don't need talent, if you work hard you will beat everyone who is lazier than you. 

"If you want different results, change your rituals"

BettingLife's Playing Rituals

• Play 5 hours per hour of study • Have a good diet • No music during a session • Work out twice a week • Play weekends - soft games • Phone on silent, no Skype • Warm up by reviewing recent studies for five minutes before opening tables.

PokerStrategy.com: You mentioned earlier the importance of creating good rituals, can you tell us more about that? 

bettinglife: First I started to read Tony Robbins and take some ideas from him. I was not happy with my results at low stakes one and a half years ago, and I wanted to play high stakes to get Supernova Elite. He says if you want different results, you need to change your rituals.

I asked myself what can I change? First I decided to cut out using my phone, Skype and listening to music when I play. It was super hard at the beginning, I was used to listening to music and Skyping all day, but then it became a part of me, it even bothers me if I am playing and my phone is next to me now. It's all about standards: if your standards are bad, it becomes a part of you.  

PokerStrategy.com: You recently made a video for a competition to win PokerStars sponsorship, why is that important for you? 

bettinglife: I really admire PokerStars and their sponsored players. As I have developed as a player I see more of myself in them. What makes me happy now is when I inspire people, because I also like to feel inspired; when I read Tony Robbins or see players much better than me. This last two years were made by a lot of inspiration and motivation, so I tried to put that on video. I had 72 hours, we did everything in three days, I think it went really well in the time we had.   

PokerStrategy.com: Thanks Antonio. Good luck for your third Supernova Elite attempt in 2014.

Watch bettinglife's hyper turbo guest video

Click to watch the video

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By Barry Carter l Barry Carter on Twitter

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