Paul "Pab" Foltyn: In the well

[Pab]

Have you ever fully recovered from the pounding Panther gave you HU in the old $15k/$27r on tribeca?

nope, mentally scarred from all the jokers on the rail and the constant spamming of the tribeca lobby str8 afterwards.

[Pab]

Pab, how does your family react to you being a full time internet player?  Did they accept it and support you when you first started, or did they tell you 'to get a proper job'?

Do you share all your wins with them, and do you think they'll always have doubts that you'll blow the lot, 'gambling' as none poker players call it?

My parents are great and would always support me in whatever I chose to do im sure. My decision to become a full time poker player wasn't really a clear cut decision and I wasn't leaving a career or had a family of my own to support. Basically I was going ok at poker in my last year at uni and it allowed to quit my part time job towards the end of my 3rd year. After Uni I went traveling for 6 months to S.America, NZ, Aus, Fiji, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand and came back home for Christmas 05. I still had a few small bankroll knocking around maybe $10k online in total and a small amount of money in my bank. My plan was to enjoy Christmas with my family and then look to embark on a career playing poker purely on a recreational level. I played some tournaments over Christmas while at home and ran so hot coming 2nd in a Ladbrokes tournament for around $8k as well as several good cashes on blue sq including a final in a 5 gold rings event with tikay and flushy. i had won a stars Bahamas package from a double shootout while i was Australia earlier that year so I traveled to that the 1st week in january and was continuing to play online. While in the Bahamas I won a WPT package on paradise as well as another tournament for $10k. After that I never really looked back and started playing full time and didnt take long for me to hit a big score taking down a Paradise Masters event for $64k n change.

My mum was more apprehensive at the beginning and took some convincing that I was not a degenerate gambler. She realised I wasn't just messing around and was beaming with pride when the Doncaster Free press did a double page spread on me buying at least 10 copies, lol. My grandad is very old school and thinks I should get a job like he had to when he was a lad etc.... It took time but i was honest with my parents about what I was doing, how much i was winning/losing etc.. and now they support me 100%, i think, lol

[Pab]

Do you consider yourself a cash game player or a mtt player?

You commuted from Australia to Poland for the ETT there, are you mad?

I consider myself a cash game player now. Its far more convenient especially when traveling a lot but also allows you greater flexibility as to when you play. Online tournament pros are a slave to the schedule and play some horrendous long hours. I used to be just the same but was becoming a social recluse and had nothing else to talk about except poker.

The Australia to Poland trip wasn't done out of choice really. I had an email from stars saying I had an unused step 3 ticket after trying to qualify for the PCA and could use it for other EPT steps. I spun it up into a step 6 ticket and had a few choices. There were step 6's running for warsaw, san remo and monte carlo. The warsaw one had cash paying down to 7 places i think so i opted for that one and ended it winning it, hence t ridiculous 30hr journy for 4 hrs in a tournament.

On an unrelated note I am mad

[Pab]

Thanks for doing this pab.

How have you found the balance between travelling the world and playing poker.

Do you see this as a holiday and you will play poker as and when you feel, or are you still treating as a "job" as such?

How have you dealt with finding reliable internet connections etc?

I love travelling and have not really stopped since mid 2005. i think my longest stint at home is maybe 2 months, if that. Playing cash makes it easy to go for long stretches without playing that much so the balance suits me fine. Also if im having a bad session, quitting and going to the beach to get drunk is a great alternative, :-)

I always play poker when I feel like it regardless of where i am in the world. I probably don't play enough but ill be putting that right in Vegas this year, 7 weeks at the series.

Internet connection isnt really a problem. I travel with a laptop and plenty of places have wi-fi. Also If you go into an internet cafe they usually let you plug the LAN cable into your laptop so you dont have to worry about spyware infected computers etc....

[Pab]

Hi Pab.

Do you think we will make the play offs?

Did you catch the Walsall game anywhere (it was on Sky)?

What was the last game you went to?

Will be very close on making the play-offs, I think if we had beat brighton on saturday I would have been very confident. Didnt get to see the walsall match, aussies not into league 1 football, 

ashamed to say i dont remember the last game i went to, 

[Pab]

when did you realise u were good enough to play fulltime?

When I won the paradise masters event for $64k

[M3boy]

Paul

What has been your greatest influence? By that I mean the one thing or person that helped you to become such a winning player?

Also, for people struggling - at what point should they admit defeat and give up?

[Pab]

Hi Pab,

I recently read that you went to Australia, i am moving out there in April and wondered if you played at Sydneys Star City Casino? What was it like if you did? Any tips?

Played at star city a couple of times, usually drunk after a night out though as its open 24hrs at the weekend for drinking. They have very steep rake and time charges as well as stupid restrictions on buying into games.  The 1/2nl has a min and max sit down of $80. The $200 max buy in game is $5-$5 blinds and you are required to pay 1 dollar every hand as well as an hourly time charge. The standard is very poor and there is definitely money to be made for some low stake players.  Chipping down or 'going south' is also allowed, lol

[byronkincaid]

hey pab, n1 for doing a well.

What is your UTG opening range in a 6 handed game?

What is your button opening range in a 6 handed game?

What is your C bet % after raising pre flop?

What is your C bet % after 3 betting?

I have trouble playing people who 3 bet light. How do you combat it in what must be very aggro 10/20 games?

[RED-DOG]

Hi Pab.

I like tourneys. I see myself as a decent online multi tourney player, but it seems to be getting harder to make final tables.

Do you think it's still possible for a "decent" tournament player to make a living online, or do you think that cash is the best/easiest option?


Do you use Poker-tracker or any other software packages of that ilk? Whether you do not, what do you think about them?

From a poker point of view, what do you see as your best quality?

Thanks for doing the well.

Good luck,

Tom.

I think tournaments online have become harder and the constantly swelling fields make it harder to 'get there' and has increased variance. I dont really play that many tournaments anymore so im not really in that good a position to judge if its still viable to make living online playing exclusively tournaments. Moorman does it, but he puts in a crazy amount of volume and is constantly on a emotional rollercoaster. Everytime I do sit down for a tournament session though I still see very stupid suicidal plays as well as plenty of players making fundamental errors with no comprehension of their own stacks size or the stack size of their opponents. On that note id say its still possible to make a decent living but be prepared for some lengthy baron spells with the field sizes. 

I use poker tracker mainly to keep accurate records of my cash game play and have PAHUD installed on my computer but don't use it. PAHUD isnt really necessary once you get to 10/20nl+ as the player pool is so much smaller than the lower levels and you get to know others players games. Also since no-one is 12-14 tabling the games have constantly changing dynamics and 3-4 games are very common as well as plenty of HU action. I dont have a problem with people using software packages such as HUD etc... part of online poker imo. The software is easily accessible online, so if you feel your opponents have an edge by using this software there is nothing stopping you getting involved.

Id say my best quality as a poker player is money management. Im not backed, not sponsored and have never been in my 2 years 3 months as a 'pro'. I have never over extended myself playing over my head at cash game levels or travelled the live circuit running up huge costs chasing the big score. I enjoy live tournaments and sometimes its hard missing out on events, the hardest for me was deciding not to play EPT monte carlo last year but Im not looking to go bsuto anytime soon. I have invested a decent chunk of money that will never return to the poker economy whatever happens. If i lost all my $$ apart from what was invested it would be time to start working even though it would kill me. Playing the game until I was completely broke and walking away with nothing to show for it is not an option IMO. I know you are not sponsored as well Tom and enforce strict bankroll management and even though its not glamorous it keeps you in the game you obvioulsy love. I know lots of players that have made more $$ than me that are now bust, or rely on backing/staking to get by and its not how i want my poker career to go.

np for doing the well

Pab

Thanks for taking the time to give such a comprehensive answer.

FWIW I don't play "Big Field" tourneys, but I'm still finding it harder to final these days, so I'm giving cash a go.

I personally have no problem with peeps using tracking software etc, I just wonder if I'm putting myself at a disadvantage by not using it. (I'm such a technophobe)

[davids2s]

Hi Pab.

1. How much of a role do you think natural ability plays in poker? Obviusly some things can be taught/learnt, but I ask you because i seem to remember way before you even began your illustrious poker career, you always managed to be up in our 3 card brag games, usually resulting in a free Burger Jims for yourself. When you began playing poker did alot of things come naturally or did you donk off much $ before you learnt more about the game?

2. Do you wish Burger Jims delivered to Australia?

[Colchester Kev]

Are you officially the richest person in Doncaster ??

[TheChipPrince]

Are you officially the richest person in Doncaster ??

Nah, that'll be Jeremy Clarkson or Paddington Bear...

[maldini32]

how do u play ak out of the blinds early in a deep stack tournament with multiple limpers?

[sovietsong]

do you ever ship $5 to people begging on the rail, if you do can i have $5 please.