Hey everyone,

I'm Elias Holloway, a highstakes professional which climbed all the way from nl2 to nl20k.

Proof:

14.2bb WR /100 from nl2-nl20k



My (long) story:

I started playing poker 8 years ago, first on Zynga Poker on Facebook, which I soon managed to beat (play money). Then I took a chance and deposited €20, which was a lot for me back then. I've always loved games, and I thought if I got good enough at poker, I might just escape my designated boring life (forced to go to some college even though I always hated school!). I devoured every book I could find in my local library and kept practicing. Jumping into real money games was tough, though. After about 2 months at NL2, I was broke, but I wasn't ready to give up. I deposited another €20, and this time, luck was on my side. I tried out a lot in the beginning, and one day, I got lucky and binked a €1 tournament for a total of around €82.

For me, this win was gold. I stood there screaming for like 5 minutes straight, jumping up and down in my room. I don't think I've ever felt that happy again after a session, not even after my €65k Euro session last winter. I had a few friends watching me on Skype, and by the end of my excitement, everyone had me muted because I just went crazy, haha. Unfortunately, the luck didn't last long. Of course, I was just lucky. I mean, I had AA 4 times just on the final table! But this win gave me enough money to keep grinding NL2 until I finally managed to beat it.

Over the next 2 years, I dedicated most of my time to poker. I won around €10k while still underage, playing on accounts from older friends. My school, my family, and everyone I knew thought I was crazy. Everyone told me I was wasting my talent. Things with my girlfriend got ugly because I didn't have enough time for her, and neither she nor her family believed in me. I started skipping school a lot, but I knew what I wanted. So, 3 days before my 18th birthday, I signed up for Best Poker Coaching (BPC).

In the first few months, results didn't come in. It was a hard time. I had 3-5 coachings a week, mostly during school time. I had to play 35-40 hours per week, and it was MY FINAL YEAR! I missed 700-800 hours of school and slept an average of maybe 3-4 hours. During 10-minute breaks, I went into an empty class with an alarm to catch some sleep. At one point, I even tried to get my sleep rhythm down to 2 hours a day with sleeping 6x 20 minutes. But nothing... I struggled to go beyond nl10 Zoom with my new coach.

In December 2017, my Zoom coach told me they were looking for heads up students, and I should start there, but the requirement was a 1500€ BR. Since I saved and locked away some money I won, spent some on coaching, and some on partying, I had barely 700-800€ left. But nobody knew, so I said I wanted to switch, and then things started to change!

I found my coach, Gordon, whom I only knew from the old videos he recorded back when he was still actively coaching in BPC, and he opened my eyes. Finally, someone explained poker to me in a language I understood. I remember sitting there and couldn't believe what I heard. If he's right, I AM GOING TO BE RICH!!! And he was right.

FAST FORWARD exactly 1 year after I joined BPC ->

Achivements

AUG 2018 - because of a heater, I had my first €10k month in just 2 weeks playing already nl400 back then. I partied for the rest of the month and moved up to nl600.
DEZ 2018 - 28k month (nl1k)

And then I actually did not progress for a long time. I traveled a lot. My few k investments I had always went really well, and when I needed money, I just played a bit of Poker... I thought I am a god, I guess. And so I threw all I had, roughly 30k at this point (my nl1k BR), into a single stock!

WIRECARD. THE BIGGEST FRAUD IN GERMAN HISTORY.

2020 - So there I was. Broke once more.

I sold the ounce of gold I had left and started on nl50 again. Lucky me while I was a horrible investor, I was still good at poker.

Just 2 months later, I was back at nl1k, shooting aggressively with 15BI shots. But this time, I kept grinding and playing. I set a goal to become a millionaire by 25!

2020 - €92k Dez (100k$+ :P) (nl8k?!)

2023 - €250k in 3.5 months, €65k Euro DAY (nl20k)

Total winnings: €1-€1.5 Million Euro

Now: AMA!:

PS: If you know anyone who might be interested in my AMA, feel free to share the link and spread the word. The more, the better!

Looking forward to chatting with all of you!

Elias Holloway

what do you think the 3 biggest mistakes your WINNING opponents make?

Very good question!

While it depends a lot on the stakes, I will talk about midstakes now (nl400-nl2k).

1) Very static game
I think this comes from the GTO approach most people tend to have these days. Everyone is just focused on getting their game "right" while forgetting, in my opinion, the most important thing: EXPLOITING!
2) Playing in a vacuum
I have such a high WR because I started HU bum hunting vs. fish. I'd say I'm one of the best players in the world when it comes down to taking fish money fast. I have seen it all, and my gut instinct is very precise. I can read fish way quicker than other pro players, and I just find higher +EV plays which may look ridiculous at first glance.
3) ALL NITS!
They still fold & bluff less in various spots (depending on the player). But I hardly find good call downs at these stakes (because nobody bluffs). So bluffing can be very profitable as well as - well - overfolding.

interesting. please give an example of one of these plays that would "look ridiculous at first glance" and the thought process that goes into the out of the box play. thanks!

Betting 75% with a good top pair against a fish on a dry board instead of just snap betting 33% can be a good adjustment to maximize value and still I barely see it.

Or let us get a little bit more advanced. Imagine you have T9 on T98rb52.

Your OOP BB vs BTN and face a big bet 75% OTF and 75% OTT vs a fish. What is your thought OTT? River is 2 brick. What do you do?

Do you think you could make it at GGPoker if you started today?

Whats the most valuable study tool, in your experience?

I am a big winner on GG Poker's VIP tables, Real name verified

However, I do not recommend GG Poker for lower stakes. To be fair, I didn't play there until I was looking for NL5k+ games, but I know the rake is high. They discourage table selection, and there are hardly any high bb/100 winners. Moreover, they reduce your rakeback when you're winning! I've also never been a fan of grinding for rakeback or leaderboards. I believe that rakeback should merely be a bonus on top of my winnings. It's crucial for me to be able to clearly identify whom at the table I am winning against and whom I need to respect.

One of the best skills you can develop as a poker player is understanding your own abilities relative to the rest of the table. Identifying losing games and quitting early will save you the most money in the long run.

The obvious answers might be tools like GTO Wizard or Pio Solver, and while they taught me a lot, they don’t necessarily teach you how to make money. They prepare you to compete against top players at the highest stakes, which is beyond what most are aiming for.

So, I’m going to recommend an older tool: Equilab.

It's my number one tool for both new and experienced students. Why? Because it doesn’t do much for you, it forces you to THINK. Many people take GTO solutions for granted, forgetting that GTO is an abstract simulation where computers play against each other. Then they try to memorize some calculations and wonder why they don’t start winning big! Here's the news: YOU’RE NOT PLAYING AGAINST A COMPUTER! By using Equilab, you must think through everything yourself.

Start by searching for the 20 flops which best abstract poker. Use three standard bet sizings—let’s say b33, b50, and b75. Calculate your minimum defense frequency (MDF) and start adding hands from your flop range until you meet the MDF. This approach will teach you a lot more than just looking at solutions from some GTO software. While results might differ slightly, you can still compare them afterwards. By doing it on your own first, you’ll learn to understand ranges much better than by just looking at random solutions. That’s how I learned poker 15 years ago, and I think many players today have become lazy.

#1 - Lots on these forums chant GTO CHART OR BUST. It completely ignores exploiting tendencies in opponents. Nobody is playing GTO. Not even those trying to. Which is why I find the mantra confusing.

If betting 75% in these spots "looks ridiculous" i cant imagine what people think when i bet 110%! lolol. youre absolutely right, auto "down c-bets" is the biggest loser i see the euro bot grinders making in the good live games in los angeles. guess its the same online.

this is actually reminiscent of sklanskys "weak ace" line in the bigger limit games back in the day. if you call a raise out of the blinds with weak ace and an ace flops, his play is check call, check call, lead.

good advice, ive told people for years that being good at many games and always playing at the best table in the casino is FAR more valuable than being a super expert in only one game type and sitting in it no matter what even when the game is horrible (which in $10/20nl+ is very often)

toughest opponents at 5k and above?

I don't know; everyone playing NL20K+ is VERY good. I don't want to single anyone out, but if you go on GG and check who's sitting at the NL40K and NL100K tables, you'll probably find your answer there.