A month ago you managed to win the Eureka Highroller event at King's Casino in Rozvadov. Congratulations and it's great to have you as our guest today.

"Thank you very much for inviting me."

You're doing well this year. It started in January with a WSOPC ring from the FiftyStack event, followed shortly thereafter by a win at Seeefeld and now that Highroller at Eureka. Was it the hit of your life?

"I think it was €58,400, minus the tips. Yes, that was really my biggest live result."

I was wondering about the beginnings, how did you get into poker in the first place? What did you do before you turned pro ?

"I first came into contact with poker when I was a teenager. I used to watch EPT and WSOP broadcasts on TV. Then I tried online sites just to try out the game. And it wasn't until I was 18 that I started playing for real money, and at 19 I logged on for the first time to an online site whose name I don't want to say for marketing reasons. But they sponsored this Eureka event as well. I was playing alongside my studies and gradually it became more and more professional. The coronavirus meant I had to stop working as a coach and suddenly I had a lot of time on my hands. And I invested that time in poker and it started to pay off. Almost exactly two years ago, I decided to go pro. I figured it was a more promising path for me than continuing my studies, I studied sports economics and worked as a trainer in a small fitness center in Dresden. I realized that this is not what I want to do anymore, it's not what makes me happy. So that was my path to professional poker and I haven't regretted it so far."

Does that mean you had already had some online successes by that time?

"Yes, exactly, I was playing a lot online back then. In the days of the Czech crown all the games exploded, all the player numbers went up. It was a fantastic time and I used to play live as well, but much less than I do now. I used to travel to the Czech Republic once or twice a month. Now I play a lot more live."

How old are you?

"I'm 24 now."

If you had to give someone 3 tips on how to go from being a recreational poker player to a professional player, what would you tell them?

"The first thing, which I think is the most important thing, is to prepare those around you for this journey. To first get rid of all the things that could weigh you down. Sort out your family difficulties, financial difficulties, circle of friends and everything like that. These are all things that can subliminally weigh you down in terms of your performance at the table. So if you carry some private issues with you, you're going to have them at the table with you and they're going to hold you back. For a long time I was in a family environment where poker was always looked at critically. And I also had to do a lot of convincing to be accepted. And by the time I was mentally ready to say, well, it's not that important to me what my grandparents say, I'm going to do my own thing, it took a while. In other words, I may have first toyed with the idea of becoming a poker pro much longer ago than two years ago, but I was only able to take that step when I felt acceptance in my environment. Then, the willingness to learn is important. There are countless poker players who have been doing the same thing for years and don't question whether it's still good or not. The game is changing, what was relevant two years ago is now obsolete. And to stay competitive nowadays, you simply have to constantly improve. And the third thing is the bankroll, what it has to do with it, the choice of limits. There are pros who play break-even at relatively high limits and they would get much higher winnings if they just went one limit lower. You have to kind of put your ego behind you and admit to yourself that I can beat these games and these games I can't."

Do you have a routine you follow when playing either online or live?

"I'm not into things like meditation and stuff like that. The only thing is that I go to the gym and do strength training. That's probably my recipe for physical but also mental fitness. And it may sound silly, but when I go to a tournament, I always go in with the mindset that I'm going to crush them now. No matter who's sitting there, whether it's a €5,000 EPT Main Event or a €200 tournament in Austria, I go in with the idea that I'm going to win against these players. It helps to tell yourself that you're good at what you do, sometimes to maybe have a little bit of overconfidence. It's important to have confidence."

Do you have any plans and goals for the future?

"I've never actually been to play outside of Europe, I wasn't attracted to it. I'm hoping to make it to the WSOP in Vegas this year. EPT's are already regular stops for me, I'm also interested in Triton."

What do you like most about life as a poker pro?

"First and foremost, I would say the freedom. You can do what you want every day, you're independent from others. You don't have a boss you have to do work for, and you can do your own thing. That has gradually become very important to me. Also the fact that I can decide when I have time off and get on a plane and go somewhere to bask in the sun. To determine when I want to go play online or live. The other thing is, of course, the money that can be made in it. I also like to travel to different events. I especially like the fact that you can always combine it with something else. You always see something from other places, other countries, other cultures. You can incorporate a little bit of vacation or just being somewhere you've never been before. Traveling is also more enjoyable for me because you get to meet new people. That's something that I find a bit more boring on online grinds, for example."

Are there things you don't like about life as a poker pro?

"I could imagine that I would enjoy a different job more in a permanent position. Poker is very time consuming. If you want to improve, you have to invest time. Even if I tell myself that I'm doing whatever I want right now. At the same time, when you travel a lot, you have little time for life outside the poker table, for family and friends. That's something that sometimes unfortunately is missing even when I choose to do it myself. Those are the things that make it a little bit harder. In poker, it's also hard to get to know a woman. You know how it is with the male-female divide in poker. I would say that's one thing that's easier in other jobs. You spend a lot of time in the casino, which is also not ideal. Aside from the sunlight, I would say, and the health aspects and things like that. But I'm saying, those are things that have to be reckoned with."

Do you have a favourite casino or does it depend more on the events that are played there?

"I think you have to differentiate between the casino and the whole area around it. Because, for example, I find EPT Prague, which is also held in cooperation with King's Prague, a very nice location and venue, whereas I wouldn't call the casino itself my favourite casino. And then, of course, there are casinos that are nice in their own right. I would say the Grand Casino Aš. I find it very cosy there, it's very relaxed. They don't have the biggest tournaments, but it's nice to just be there. Maybe it's also because that's where I started with poker. Other than that, there are a lot of other great places. For example, there are casinos in Malta where you are always right on the beach. Barcelona, where you're also right on the beach, and many others."

Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?

"It's always good to have people who just add value to poker and bring it to the world. I try to do a little bit of that through my Instagram feed as well, so people can see what's going on in poker. To make sure that the game doesn't get the reputation of being a gambling game that maybe some people still have and that it's seen more as a competitive sport. We are not all playing it as a gamble and losing our houses. What I'm glad to see is that a format like the Spadecast contributes to that."

Fabian, thanks for the interview and fingers crossed for more wins on the way!

Photo sources - Flickr/PSlive, themaltapokerfestival, PokerZive, Kings-resort