Kevin Andrews (GrimIsCool) well

A man visited a village, and was told
"If you have any questions, shout them into the well and they will be answered, except on Tuesdays"

"So what happens on Tuesdays?"

"It's your turn to go into the well."

Hi Kevin. Congratulations on your first place win in the recent SCOOP 2016 #44-M ($109 HORSE) tournament. Quite impressive! Thanks for agreeing to host this well. Will you start by telling us a little bit about yourself and your SCOOP experience?

Thanks.

Buzz

Congrats on score bro.

few Questions...

Dream chick to bang?
Best hobby outside of poker?
If poker became great again would u play full time or do u like working?
Worst cash game opponent on stars?
when are we gona get a live game in london going?

Yeaah Camp!

Was a sick nice sweaat! (we all knew where the watch where going!)

Well deserved one for the good guys!

Just a Beer request if im ever close!

Hey Buzz, thanks for your kind words and also for throwing me down the well!

So I currently work in Digital Marketing for a company running various Poker, Slots and Casino sites. Before this, I got my BSc in Physics then an MSc in Engineering and Business, both from Kings College London, throughout which I basically supported myself through playing during the evening and weekends.

After I graduated I started playing full time, a mixture of low-mid stakes O8/PLO/NLHE MTTs as well as low stakes O8 cash. At first, I really loved the freedom of playing full time, setting my own schedule and being my own boss, but after about a year the grind of it all really started to affect me. The long hours isolated on my own, the swings, the monotony etc, basically the same as many ex-pro's find, so I began looking for jobs. I still had no desire to work a regular 9-5 though so I only looked for jobs with Poker and Gambling companies, something I was really passionate about. I eventually found this job and now really enjoy turning regular people into degens like us

Working full-time has actually allowed me to step back from a standard grind and actually just play when I really want to play. I think that was really the key for me because now I think about the game far deeper than I ever did before and it's really showing on my game. I now play much higher stakes than I ever did before when playing full-time which makes for a very tidy side income

SCOOP-wise, I don't get the opportunity to play many events because of my full-time job but tried to jump in wherever I could. I played a few of the evening turbo events with no luck but then the HORSE came along that fortunately started on a Friday night and was actually the first opportunity I had to play a regular speed tournament all series! I'm not exactly the world's greatest HORSE player so at first I was just excited to make the money, then even more excited just to make to make it to day two, then again to make the final table, then heads up, then to take it down! It was an unbelievable rush and without a doubt my proudest moment playing Poker.

Before I get into answering anyone's questions, I just want to say a massive thanks to the community here! There's been so many posters here who have had huge impacts on my game and have gone on to become really good friends. I've had the opportunity to meet quite a few of these guys and I hope to meet even more in the future. Because O8 is such a niche game, the community here is quite close and really supportive of each other and it's been an absolute pleasure to be part of it for the past 6 orso years.

Thanks buddy

The "correct" answer would be my Fiancée, if by chance she reads this! :P

Real answer, Halle Berry

Love sports but just like with Poker, I like playing the slightly less traditional ones more. I play American Football for a local team and then captain the office Cricket team as well. Other than that, love nothing more than an evening session down the pub

Nah, I don't think I'd go full time again. I'd say I'm a lot happier now focussing on the full-time job and keeping Poker as a (serious) hobby.

I'm going to take "worst" as the player I least enjoy playing against, right? Mid-High stakes O8 cash regs are a rare breed so most of them I'd rather not battle with too much. Players like Bokkie, Flex, Jonball sometimes make my time at the tables a living hell!

Mate, I'm dying to play O8 live. Get a game big enough and I'd happy take the trip up north too.

Much appreciated bro! Hell yeah, if you ever make it over to the UK, we're having beers Ditto if I take a trip over to Sweden.

Grats on the SCOOP win, bud.

A couple of questions:

1) In Canada, a Bachelor is sufficient in finding a job and a Masters is one that a small % takes unless they want to go all the way (i.e. a phd). What made you decide to go for your MSc after you got your BSc? Were you considering the phd path?

2) How long did it take you to find your current job? Did you create a poker CV/resume that had some of your poker accomplishments?

3) Assuming you don't stay in this role forever, what do you see yourself doing next when you are ready to move onto bigger and better things?

And if you're ever in Toronto, beers are on me.

Cheers mate

A couple of reasons. I went for my Bachelors in Physics because I really enjoyed the subject and at a point I was considering a Phd. But, I didn't particularly consider that it might pigeon-hole me into careers in data-science or similar that I wasn't really interested in. When I got towards the end of my BSc, I was still doing pretty well from Poker so I thought why not go for a Masters in a broader subject that'd make me a bit more employable a year down the line, while still playing part-time. In the end it didn't matter really, no one really paid much attention to the added Degree and like you said, the Bachelors would have been enough for most employers. Don't regret it though, I got to live the student life for a year longer, learnt a couple new subjects and spent a good portion of that still playing poker

Took about 6 months but I was incredibly lackadaisical with the job hunt. I'd maybe once a week take a look at any new Poker/Gambling related jobs and apply to whatever took my fancy. This job was actually the 3rd interview I had and my poker experience was a huge advantage in my favour. There were a huge number of jobs going at the Pokerstars London office at the time but I didn't apply because I didn't want to stop playing there! :P
I did indeed create a poker specific CV! I highlighted my earnings, my use of HEM/PT as an analytic tool, knowledge of probability and statistics, my experience in coaching and being coached, etc. I'm sure it drew polarized opinions from whoever read my CV but I guess that's what you need, something to make you stand out from the crowd!

The idea would be to get more involved on the operational side of the industry as well. Get hands on with the product, have more influence on what games are spread and essentially work towards possibly running a company within the industry Other than that I have a few ideas revolving around user-generated contents sites that I'd love to take a shot at should I ever get the chance!

You never know, I may just take you up on that offer!

WP Kev. Solid score.

So what are you spending it on? Hookers and blow ?

If you were to choose one player in the world (other than yourself) to spin the win up, who would you choose?

Congrats again on the takedown.

Why 08? Any particular aha moment?

Second favorite game in HORSE?

Thank you sir

Obviously! Nah, a few months ago I was seriously considering a WSOP trip this summer, then I got engaged and so put a lot of money towards that. Now I binked this, I'm thinking WSOP trip is on the cards again Gotta go for the $1,500 HORSE now right?!

Good question bro! Keeping it within the community I reckon I'd go for either Bosshoven (Beethoven) or Trelskig. I really admire their aggressive styles and I think if they can hit a run of cards, they could spin it up Archie Karas style! (Greg could probably lose it all Archie Karas style too! :P)

Thanks a lot mate

Read Super System 2 and the game just seemed really cool. Tried it out and got hooked!
No specific "aha moment" but I do remember trying out micro stakes cash games and playing really tight with the words "Only draw to the nuts" whirling round my head, then watching other players going crazy with the 2nd nut low or weak flushes and thinking to myself "Oh my god, this game is so easy!"

Just like every other O8 player, it's got to be Stud 8 Although during the SCOOP, I think apart from the O8 rounds, I made most of my chips from Limit Holdem so maybe I'm not too shabby at that either

Thanks for doing this

What are your usual stakes/games?

Best o8 player you have ever played against.

Are you degen in sports/pit?

Favorite drug?

Who would win heads-up? You or me?

Been a pleasure

Midstakes PLO8/5cPLO8 Cash Games.

Really tough to pick one. Some of the best I've played against include: kuhns89, bokkie87, Jon9Ball, flexmasterNL, Sirens etc

Aren't we all?!

Don't really do drugs, just a borderline alcoholic

You LDO, I suck

How do I know if my current girlfriend is 'the one'? How did you know?

For BBV: Biggest ever cash game pot?

When you get to the point where the words "Babe, I can't hang out right now, a whale just sat me HU" stop being met with complete derision, and instead are met with a kiss good luck and possibly a sandwich

Honestly, wasn't too sure when it happened. I was freaking out for a bit about the whole commitment thing then just one day, wasn't scared any more

$3k online, £2k live. Got it in bad both times

Why you put him on list ?

I played most of my volume at low stakes (0.25/0.50 & 0.50/1) and bumped into him a lot there where, like I mentioned earlier, he made life very tough for me

My list is probably a bit different to the HS Regs' lists because I haven't played much volume at all with most of the "crushers".

What does your screenname refer to?

Any thoughts or stories regarding Razz? That's always been my second favorite HORSE game.

Really dumb story. Used "The Grim Reaper" as a SN when playing an online FPS called Unreal Tournament, was like 10 at the time. Shortened to just "Grim" as I got older and played other games cause that was a tiny bit less childish. When I started signing up for Poker sites when I hit 18, every combo of "Grim__" was already taken so eventually found "GrimIsCool" free. Who would've guessed it'd stick for nearly 10 years :|

I like Razz as part of the mix, I'd go nuts just to playing it on it's own! :P Think there's a really steep learning curve to it, so a lot of people who think they're OK at it are actually pretty terrible. Once you work on the game for a bit and begin to understand some of the nuances, it actually becomes quite fun.

congrats on the scoop score grim.

You're right about razz. I hear a lot of 'razz is an easy game' etc but these guys probably play way sub optimally. Along with that you get all the Russians that just play horribly. And of course Mickal who plays every day of his life and causes every1 problems with his super fast aggro play and runs like the sun.

Order of HORSE fav games pls?

Mine is

Stud8
Razz
Stud
Holdem
FLO8(Stopped enjoying it years ago although it would have to move up 2 places if I was saying my best games)

For mtts I much prefer 8 game having nlhe and PLO in there. Which reminds me they need to put in a 8 game mtt > $82. After having a weekly 530 which was too high adding a $320 blue would be really good. Would you play that if it was included in the schedule?

Do you prefer 8 game also and do you play 8 game cash? I recall that you were in general a solid player so maybe you already play some lowish stakes 8 game cash. if not you should. Easy money.

We used to bump into each quite a bit in low/mid stake o8 mtts back then if you remember? What kind of image did I have and what label did you have on me? I wont be insulted w.e you say as my o8 game especially has changed quite a bit in the last couple of years.(for better or for worse)

I think you made a good decision looking to a career and poker as a hobbie. I also went back to my career last year and don't hate poker anymore. Well not as much but Amaya can go fk themselves obv.

Will you continue with this career path? I was also in the gaming industry as I think I told you in the past but now moved away as I want to get out of data warehousing. Can you recommend a good way of getting back into the industry but within a different role to programming or data warehouse dev/design?

That's about it

GL

Thanks mate!

Totally. It's a simple game on the face of it but when you actually start learning strat, it becomes really complex and quite fun!

O8 - Stud8 - Razz - FLHE - Stud.
I just suck so hard at Stud!

I'd be happier just having the 2-7TD included! I'd for sure be happy to see a $320 8-game in the schedule though, there's definitely the demand for HS Mixed Game MTTs from both Regs and Recs in my opinion!

I have done yeah. I more regularly play Dealers Choice games live though where the rotation is mainly those.

I'll take that as a compliment, ty

Of course, we played against each other practically every day. You were solid, would rather you weren't in my games at the time

Definitely, I really enjoy being on both sides of the industry now. Like everyone else here I love this game and want to see as many people as possible playing!

If you've already got the industry experience, maybe try something like Product or Game Operations? Basically getting more hands on with the product itself and shaping how it succeeds. The other way is going towards Marketing. We get a lot of crossover between Marketing teams and DW/BI teams.

Very interesting answers thus far! Great well!

It would be interesting to have an idea of how tightly you play Omaha-8 when winning a HORSE tournament. To that end, I have a few questions about playing Omaha-8 at a full table in the SCOOP 2016 #44-M ($109 HORSE) tournament:

1. How many players started at each full table at the start of the tournament?
2. When posting the big blind, approximately what percentage of the time were you raised (as opposed to opponents limping to see the flop)?
3. When raised in the big blind, with approximately what percentage of hands did you defend?
4. Approximately what percentage of hands did you voluntarily play (see the flop with when not in the unraised big blind)
5. When voluntarily entering the action yourself, with what percentage (approximately) of hands did you limp?

Buzz