Adrin Mateos, the king of poker who has already won almost 40 million euros: “The risk of ruin I have is zero”

2023-11-10 21:28:37

FEDERICO MARN BELLN

Updated Friday, November 10, 2023 – 20:28

Madrid, which has accumulated 36 million euros in live tournaments, enters the top 15 in the world in earnings: “The most expensive poker games are unsustainable if you don’t win.”

Adrin Mateos, in the Tritn Series, in Monte Carlo.

As I write these lines, Adrin Mateos win 300,000 euros in an online poker tournament. It is not even a hundredth of what he has accumulated live in just over 10 years of career. Born in San Martín de la Vega in 1994, La Mquina is already among the fifteen biggest winners in history. His prize money on pet mats totals 38.6 million dollars (36.1 million euros). Maybe I would change some to see Atleti win a Champions League.

Among his awards, the four bracelets from the Las Vegas World Series (WSOP) stand out, although there is hardly any prize that can resist him. He has been number one in the world and is the youngest on the list of millionaires. There are several players ahead who play much less than me. It should be a matter of time to get through them. My goal is to enter the top 10 in two years, at the latest, he says by phone from London, days after marking his last big notch in the stock, more than three million in the Triton Series in Monte Carlo.

The leader of the classification is still far away. It’s the American Kenney Hill (there are no missing letters, his name is written like this), with 65 million. Tenth place is within reach, less than five kilos, a small step for Mateos although it represents an unbridgeable abyss for most professionals.

People may think that it is easy money. It is the time of my career in which I am most motivated and in which I am devoting the most time to playing, but also to studying. The good thing is that very high levels are being played right now and it is a good time to work harder than your rivals and stand out. Do you see other Spaniards rising positions in the coming years? Yes. Right now the one who plays with me the most at high levels is Juan Pardo. He will surely rise in positions, although he travels less and that is another requirement to play live. I can do it as a member of the Winamax pro team. The Hendon Mob roster only counts live tournaments. Do you earn even more money online? They are all raw numbers and the online statistics are not public, but I think they are somewhat lower, although it has also gone well for me. It’s like the joke about the guy from Bilbao who is asked how much he has won in the lottery and answers: “What I was playing for, 300 million.” You participate in the most expensive tournaments. Perhaps the list is misleading. Indeed, it is. I spend millions a year on registrations and, although I have made a significant profit and done well, it is far from the 38 million dollars that appear. When you play at high levels against the best in the world the margins are relatively small. I don’t earn 100% of my investment, far from it. If one year I spent five million and earned six, it is a good year. People will never know the real profit of the players, because they are private accounts. Perhaps the profit classification is not the most reliable. It’s difficult. In poker there is no classification that is completely reliable. For me, the criterion for judging a player is the number of years he has been competing in ‘high stakes’ (the most expensive games). If you don’t make money, they are unsustainable. They are too expensive and no one will trust you if you are not a winner. You will end up losing a lot. Those who have been competing in these types of tournaments for years do so because they win. Do you keep a detailed accounting of the money you win or lose each month? In the online game I have everything more controlled, because there are programs that help, but in real life I keep the accounts using an eyemeter. It is not very necessary either, because I trust myself a lot and I am clearly a winner at my level. I don’t care much if I have earned a little more or a little less.

Looking too much at your results can also be a dangerous display of ego. Yes, it is dangerous if you take it as a matter of ego. That’s why I don’t like to be so focused on numbers. They are important to know if you are a winner or not, and I am totally sure of that. I know that I have had a lot of profit in the 10 years of my career. Are you on a roll or is it the usual rhythm? Every year has gone well for me, but this year is the one in which I have earned the most money live, nine and a bit million. There are several factors. One of the main ones is to be in a good moment. Another, that every year the game is more expensive. And the main thing is that I have had great results in just the most expensive tournaments, with registrations of 100,000 or so. In those tournaments you can win millions and obviously you climb positions. Many of those expensive tournaments are played sidelined, with participation from other players. The gross profits seem more impressive, but I don’t play 100% of my action. We manage the bank among several people so as not to depend on the results of a few tournaments. Shares are sold to people with certain commissions or we exchange percentages between players with a similar skill. In the future, apart from a possible total retirement, do you consider going down a step and playing more calmly? It is something that you always consider, because the life I currently lead is a little unsustainable in the long term if I want to start a family and take a little time. calmer Today, I am 29 years old, I am young and what I want most is to continue competing at the highest level, travel and be one of the best in the world. For now, it will continue for a few years. When you lose that motivation or have others that do not align with being the best, obviously you will not be able to compete at the same level. During study hours, is it necessary to have coaches or other people to help you, like in chess? Yes and no. You can do almost everything yourself, because there are very powerful programs and their opinion is usually more reliable than that of any other player. The ‘solvers’ tell you the right moves, etc. With its help you can study alone, but the programs cannot give you such a correct solution to more human factors. People who have also done very well also open your mind to new thoughts. We all learn from everyone. I talk about hands with two or three friends almost every day and together we try to improve. In chess there is a certain paranoia with artificial intelligence and surreal episodes have been experienced. In poker it is becoming more and more worrying, too. The Internet has always been a danger, but in theory the main job of the largest rooms is to avoid cheating. I believe that the vast majority do not do anything illegal and that you can also earn a lot online. The programs cannot be used live and they are not like chess, because they are not as exact. There are more variables, such as position at the table. On the chess board there is always a more profitable move. In poker you must adapt to the types of players. That danger is far away. I will always be able to play poker profitably, because many fans want to compete at high levels. In your 11 years of career, you have only had one bad year. Did you relax or was it bad luck? In 2017 I was world number one in the GPI ranking. For that I had to go to all the tournaments. It was a lot of work and too many trips. I focused on that and stopped studying a bit. After 10 or 12 hours a day at the tables, you don’t feel like it. I trusted my ego and my ability and 2018 came, which was one of the worst years of my career. I didn’t lose much, but I felt like I didn’t have the same competitive advantage. I went from being one of the best to being a good one, plus I did poorly in other things. During the pandemic I locked myself in London, I started playing and studying and came out stronger. I noticed that the others couldn’t keep up with my pace and great results came. I have that fear in my body: if you are not at your best, they are going to pass you. I don’t want to feel that feeling again. It is the only secret to staying a leader in any sector. If a bad streak came back, even if it was due to bad luck, could you lose everything in one year? Honestly, the risk of ruin I have is zero or practically zero. If I did poorly and lost everything it would be due to mistakes, not only in playing, but in managing my money. If you do poorly, you must go down a level and with a lot of work and study in the end you will always beat people who dedicate fewer hours. You are a soccer fan. Do you identify with the philosophy of any coach? Any elite sport has many similarities with high-level poker. The motto of Simeone, that effort is not negotiable, I try to apply it to my professional and personal life.deportd I do what I have to do and then the results do not depend on me, but I know that it will go well for me. It is a good philosophy of life and allows you to sleep very well.
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