Tomáš, a colleague called you a legend some time ago, why do you think he perceives you that way? How do you take it?
"How do I perceive it? I don't think so, but I've been doing it for a long time, I have a lot of friends in poker."
Your name is already well known to most of the Czechoslovak and to a large extent also part of the international poker community. However, we certainly have readers who don't know it yet. First, tell us something about your professional beginnings.
"Sometime in 2007, I met a friend who was filming poker videos at the time, and he told me that I could try shooting tournaments. Based on that, I came to Card, where the Czech Poker Tour was played, one of the first. I started taking pictures of them and started enjoying it, and over time I got a contract with Pokerman. And from there I once got a referral to Pokerstars. There I photographed Eureka number one in Prague at Card. They liked my work so much that they took me on. And gradually I got more and more tours and worked my way up from a small Czech casino to the WSOP in Las Vegas, where as a member of the official team I did the 50th anniversary of the WSOP alongside Joe Giron (poker photojournalist - editor's note)."
Did you also play poker at that time, or how did you actually get into that environment?
"I didn't play poker, but of course I started playing it in the beginning. For that reason, to know when to expect some interesting actions, reactions, emotions. So I played online and live. Not much, but so that it gets under my skin and everything is as it should be. But for my first hard drives, which I wanted to buy, I won in cash."
A really big part of your work is travel, especially flying. Do you have any experiences with it that are particularly etched in your memory?
"If I were to count it, I've already been to about 37 countries altogether. A person really spills a lot. And probably the most bizarre incident was when I flew the Bermuda Triangle in a typhoon. The plane was sinking about fifty meters deep, and we were flying the same route as the planes disappearing in the Bermuda Triangle. A US Army fighter pilot happened to be sitting next to me and we joked about it a bit, knowing it was safe. But the people around us were already starting to throw up. When we landed, we were already landing "crosswind" (landing with a side wind - editor's note). At that time, the wind was so strong that it was tearing the palm trees from the ground. And the pilot even got a skid on the front wheel, so at the last moment he returned the plane to a normal landing. When I got off the plane, an American pilot with ray bans, a big guy in every sense of the word, came up to me. And I tell him "That was a nice maneuver, you saved the plane". And he said "Are you a pilot?", and I said no, but I've already flown an awful lot. So he says "You're right, but don't tell anyone". But on the other hand, you also have beautiful flights. You fly, you go to the crew for a coffee, and you find out that the crew is from the countries around you, and they treat you like a king, and shower you with Swiss chocolate. So everything has its pros and cons. Anyway, flying is a nice thing and I like it.”
What do you like most about the job?
"I make people happy and I enjoy it. When they get older and show people pictures of where they won, maybe they'll remember that I took the picture. A few times I've also had things happen that I didn't really publicize, like we were shooting a big tournament and a colleague didn't handle it very well. And then the winners wanted me to take a picture, but I had to decline. Although I was sorry, but it would not be collegial.'
During your career, you must have met many interesting and famous players. I suppose some of you were more sympathetic than others.
"Sure, some are more likeable, some less so. But some players are unpopular at the table, for example Miki (Martin Kabrhel - editor's note), but when you get to know him more and from a different side, then he's a nice guy. I like him. Which, unfortunately, cannot be said about the majority of players. I had a lot of people on my team. For example, I photographed Tomba, Nadal, Neymar. These are the celebrities who played poker. I also worked with Becker. But you know what, for example, I also worked with players who were at the beginning of their success. For example, Dzmitry Urbanovich, I photographed one of his first tournaments in Pardubice, when tournaments organized by the Prague Card Casino were still being played there. And over time, he became a world-class high stakes player. So I've known some of the players practically since I was in diapers. I've gotten to know a lot of them during the time I've been doing it. I've worked with a lot of low stakes players, but as I say I've also worked with a lot of super high stakes players. Now towards the end practically only with super high stakes. We are now friends with many of them. I also think of Sam Grafton, a well-known poker coach who once lived in Prague and played at Carda there. I have many prokr friends in Norway, Sweden and Finland. For example, Norwegian players Martin Almaas or Tom Aksel Bedell. I've been covering Norwegian Poker since their first legal tournament. That's where Frode Fragelli, who can be said to be the father of Norwegian poker, has my great respect and friendship."
You photographed a lot of huge tournaments. Can you estimate the total prize pool that you have photographed over the years?
"Do you think it can be counted? But if you want to count it, you can count a lot of EPTs in a couple years, a lot of WPTs in a couple years. For example, when I was in the Bahamas, we also had fifty tournament winners there, all of whom I photographed. So it's impossible to calculate it, but it would be an astronomical amount that surely no one in the world has ever won, I'm sure of that. And it will be a long time before someone wins it.”
Do you remember what was the highest prize you took a picture of?
“It must have been over a million dollars and more. I photographed an interesting moment last year in London. There was a Highroller with a buy-in of 25,000 euros, Mystery Bounty. It was attended by Juan Pardo, the name probably tells you something. He is one of the top players, a good guy. He won the Mystery Bounty top prize of 50,000 euros, and then there were some envelopes left. So I tell him, Juan, open the envelope, and then I'll tell you how much was in there. Juan did it, turned over the second prize of 50,000 euros and I say to him "Juan, now jump". And he jumped up and I took a picture of it. And it must be said that he won the whole thing after that, so he was really well paid for that tournament."
What are the photographs that you consider special in your career?
"When it comes to the photos I've taken, I sometimes get different ideas. I'm creative about it. And one fine day in the Bahamas, I got the idea that while I'm here, I want to do something that no one has ever done before. I went to the head of the dolphinarium to arrange it. I took one winner and put him in the middle with the dolphins and the dolphins were jumping behind him, you could even see the room behind him where Michael Jackson used to live. So this was probably the most I've ever taken. Of course, the beloved dolphins were subsequently very well rewarded with a lot of fish. So I thought up and realized such a photo, and it wasn't easy."
When you describe what the work of a poker photographer entails, I can see that it must be quite physically demanding.
"First you travel for several hours. You carry from 50 to 70 kilos of equipment with you to those tournaments. Work as such... You fly several kilometers a day, kneel down 100-200 times, and lift a camera that weighs three kilos 3,000 times. So do the math. It's non-stop fitness. When there is a really big and demanding tournament, I am able to lose 8 kilos in 10 days."
