How to Become a Texas Hold'em Pro Patrik Antonius Tells You How To!
How to Become a Texas Hold'em Pro Patrik Antonius Tells You How To! With more than $12 million in live tournament earnings and a European Poker Tour title, Patrik Antonius holds the top spot in Finland's all-time tournament earnings list, and he's probably one of the best-known European poker players in mind.
Earlier this year, Antonius was runner-up in the WPT Heads-Up Poker Tournament (losing to Phil Ivey), proving that he is still capable of competing at the highest level in Texas Hold'em.
Pokerisivut recently released a new documentary on YouTube that delves into how Antonius gradually improved to become one of the most famous poker players in Texas Hold'em.
The video is engaging and includes some interesting topics. In addition to this, Antonius has provided plenty of advice on how to follow in his footsteps and compete like him to the highest level.
Here are seven tips for becoming a professional poker player shared by Antonius:
1. Start small
Every Texas Hold'em player dreams of gradually growing their bankroll by playing micro stakes, and Antonius did just that.
“I started playing poker with some friends when I was 10 or 11,” Antonius said, explaining how he played five-card stud and other poker variants at that time.
On a lucky day, I might win five Finnish marks. That's how I got into poker.
Since then, Antonius has been playing poker with his buddies, gradually building up the ranks until he has the money to deposit in an online poker room.
2. Choose the right game
Did you know that Juha Helppi helped Antonius save money online for the first time? Antonius managed to turn 200 euros into 30,000 euros in two months?
All that Antonius earned by playing $1/2 PLO, playing aggressively and dominating everyone at the table. At the time, online high-stakes games didn't exist yet, but Antonius still wanted to test himself.
The highest level of online poker is $30/$60 Limit Hold'em. I don't know anything about this kind of game…but I started digging into it and managed to improve very quickly.
Suddenly, I was up to the highest level of Limit Hold'em, playing against some of the best players in the world.
Antonius then switched to no-limit hold'em, playing online at the $50/$100 and $100/$200 levels, and success followed.
I stared at the regular game lobby, wondering how such a big game could exist!
He says he has no problem testing the waters occasionally in the $200/$400 level. If I lose, I can easily downgrade. Playing against opponents who are better than you is how you really improve.
3. Surround yourself with the best
In the video, Antonius opens up about his early days with his fellow countrymen, including Juha Helppi, Aki Pyysing, Jani Vilmunen and Jani Soimtula.
“These and a few others were the core group on my first poker trip,” Antonius said. “The Finns were really competitive.”
But he admits that not everyone has made the other successful. All in all, those trips left me with so many great memories.
4. Let go of yourself
It's important to be aware of your strengths, but always be honest with yourself.
He said: “Knowing yourself and being aware of your strengths and weaknesses is absolutely important, self-awareness is really bad for you, and when people think too much about themselves, they quickly lose at the poker table. Lose.”
5. River decision matters
According to Antonius, the point of poker is to make the right decisions, especially on the river.
Calling, bluffing, and using the correct bet sizing on the turn is very important, but especially on the river.
Whether the decision on the river was to fold, call or bet, Antonius said he was always good at making all kinds of river decisions, a skill that has helped him get to where he is today.
6. Don't be a slave to the GTO
Back in 2017, Antonius told PokerNews that poker is no longer fun because players mostly use software tricks when playing high-stakes tournaments.
In this latest video, Antonius says he never makes any poker decisions based solely on math.
“As long as I'm close to the mathematically correct decision, that's enough for me,” he said. “GTO is really important, but it can also derail your game.”
7. Always watch your opponent
Antonius said that many players in live poker today like to bury their heads at the table and play with their phones, and they sometimes miss valuable information from their opponents and end up making bad decisions against players they don't even know.
Antonius advises these players to observe their opponents in the hand and get as much information as possible from them. He aims to draw a basic conclusion based on their dress style and what they're talking about at the poker table, all of which might help him if he meets each other in a hand.
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