Hugo Pereira dá alto show em entrevista publicada na PKR!!!

What was your overall approach to these tournaments?
To gain as much experience as I could from watching the plays that ‘experts’ made. I tried to stay focused and took notes about the main hands I played, for example those that got me doubling my stack.
I wasn’t too nervous, perhaps because it wasn't really my money at stake. :D

What do you think is your greatest weakness?
Well, I'm not particularly a fan of 6-max games, and I think I have a small problem with them. I tend to open up my range of hands too much, and I put myself in difficult situations. Also in turbo tournaments, I stress a little bit, because having the blinds rising so quickly puts you in a position in which you have to put pressure on other players...and it's never easy to do that with cold cards.

What advice can you give to players who are just starting out on their real money tournament journey?
My BIGGEST ADVICE is BANKROLL MANAGEMENT!! It's never enough to point this out, because many people forget how important this is. You have to play MTTs or STTs in which the buy-in doesn't affect your bankroll, and that means you must not invest more than 3% of your total roll.
If you follow this advice, it's the first step to success, because in the long term you'll win for certain.

How long have you been playing poker?
I've been playing for about two years, but have been more active over the last year, as I've joined a group of people that have the same interest and so we've been helping each other to evolve in the game.
I mainly play small stakes, and give a shot once in a while to a tournament of a bigger buy-in (not too much, tough). It's important to do this, so you don’t get too bored of playing the same games over and over again.

What did your experience teach you, and how (if at all) has your MTT strategy changed?
Well, my MTT experience has changed a lot from the way that I used to play. First of all, I used to play many hands in the early stages of tournaments, because it was cheap to see a flop. WRONG! In the beginning you tend to win small pots and lose big pots. So, you have to pay attention and control the pot.
I have also now learnt another useful skill - playing in position, even with ‘air’ (no hand at all), it lets you win some pots and have control over other players. So, I would say that my experience got me changing my strategy in a way I think is profitable.

Which tournament did you enjoy the most, and why?
I enjoyed playing the $1,000 GTD Deep Stack, where I really could play poker, having a big stack for a change, with a very good structure, this tournament let me practice some moves that I like to do when in position. You play a lot post-flop, which gives you much more experience than playing only pre-flop. You can try to represent some hands and also slow play your monster hands.

How did you find the difference in class compared to the lower buy-in tourneys?
I didn’t notice as much difference as I had expected. For example, in the $1,000 GTD Deep Stack, there was a guy that limped pre-flop UTG with A-Q and had 2 more limps coming with him. I was on BB with Q-Q and pushed all my stack, as I had more or less 10 BBs. He instantly called my all-in – an Ace came on the board and that was goodbye for me.

Will you be playing any of the tourneys again?
Yes, as soon as I have the bankroll to do it.

What was the most satisfying hand you played over the whole challenge?
I was playing the PKR Open and after an hour had passed I hadn't seen any good hands at all. After some plays that didn't go well, I was down to 1,450 chips, and the blinds were already 75/150. My image at the table was very tight, so I thought that the next time the pot comes to me unraised, I’d fire and play with any two.
I got 7-4 suited, in middle position, and raised 350. Only tineplant on the BB called and the flop was J-T-6 (two hearts and a club). I fired a continuation bet, in order to win the pot, but was called. I now thought it possible she was holding K-Q or even two hearts. The turn brought a 4 of diamonds, and I pushed all-in... surely she would fold but NO, she came with me! Luckily though she was hoping for a straight which didn’t come and I doubled up!

If you could take the challenge again what would you do differently?
I guess I wouldn't do anything differently. I scheduled the four tournaments in order to play them in order, from the lowest to the highest buy-in. I played relaxed and focused, and never really felt that I did much wrong. Luck is also a big part of the game and on this occasion I didn’t really get much.
It was a very entertaining experience, and I was happy to see that the higher buy-in tournaments weren’t as difficult as I had expected.
I just want to thank all the people that voted and also PKR!

Nota: grande bitaite, sem dúvida, este do nosso Hugo Pereira, ainda por cima em inglês. Very, very well played, my friend. A entrevista pode ser lida na versão original por esta via. Parabéns ainda pela referência a este grupo de amigos que estará sempre aqui para ajudar quando precisares. Tens uma linha de raciocínio que explica os teus resultados e sente-se claramente que estás no caminho certo. Só falta revelares ao mundo qual é o teu truque preferido com o boneco da PKR. E pô-lo a cacarejar não vale. Siga!!!