Interview: SNG Pro Andrew Voshage
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Cash game players get the respect and tournament players get the glory, but it’s another type of player that generally gets the steadiest win and largest profit: Sit and Go players, those who specialize in one-table tournaments (for the most part) and have developed a skill set focused on beating a format of poker that’s evolved into something quite unlike your typical game of holdem. One of the better models for those interested in taking the SNG route to poker profitability is the subject of this interview, Andrew Voshage.
Andrew, better know as VOSS1313, was nice enough to take some time out from the SNG grind to offer up his tips for players looking to master online SNGs.
PTP: Tell us a little bit about how you got started in poker and what the experience has been like so far.
AV: After being in college for 3 years and pursuing an Electrical Engineering degree, I stopped going even though I had a solid GPA. I had only been playing poker for 9 months, but I felt ready to play it for a living. I started being coached by one of the best SNG players in the world (jhub3000) in April 2008. I deposited $600 on full tilt and haven’t looked back. I started playing $6.50 SNGs and moved up in stakes through great coaching and good bankroll management. Around September 15th he decided I was good enough to play high stake SNGs and moved me up to $109s. The freedom of the job is amazing. I feel like even though I have played a lot less then a lot of the top regulars I have better emotional control over myself then a huge % of them. I see them complain about beats and berate fish all the time, which are two things I never do.
PTP: You’ve taken a fairly non-glamorous path to good returns in poker – what attracted you to the games you play?
AV: I play SNGs because that is what Hub taught me and that’s what I specialize in. I would rather be a cash game player and hope to be sometime down the road. I have also thought about learning MTTs, but I would hate the long hours without being able to stop when I want.
PTP: There’s a real issue for some people with the grind associated with the games you play. What’s your approach for dealing with that?
AV: When I hear the word grind I think of a few words boring, repetitive, automatic, and brainless motions. That is like a robot. There are a lot of SNG players that play too many tables and become robots. I have fun playing the game if I didn’t I wouldn’t be playing. As for variance, I don’t let myself get too excited about making $5k in a day because you can’t control daily profits or loses. By focusing my energy on making the right plays and on long term results I get through my downswings and stay positive.
PTP: I know you recently won a trip to the Playboy mansion as a result of your volume play. What was that experience like?
AV: Yeah it was a rake race through rakebacknation.com, which I just killed. I think I raked around $13k in like 12 days of playing. It was double second place. The trip was amazing. Here is a story about the trip:
On the Thursday night of that weekend I met Cristal Camden at a club. She is a former Ex-Girlfriend of Hue Hefner. I met her through a guy I met at the Roosevelt Hotel. During the night I met her, she texted Hef to tell him that she wanted to waitress my cabana. So the night of the party I was expecting her to be at my cabana and she wasn’t. She ditched me to waitress Ron Artest’s cabana, which I don’t blame her.
(View some pics from the Playboy trip here).
PTP: What have been some of the more interesting trends you’ve noticed in the games online during the last couple of months?
AV: Every form of poker has been getting harder and harder. I think the games are the hardest they will be for a long time right now. People don’t have as much money to throw around as they use to. A huge % of US citizens also think poker online in illegal, which isn’t true. I am hoping within a couple years the government just starts taxing poker directly because I think that would bring a lot of new players in.
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