May 10 2012, Chad Holloway

If you’ve followed the World Series of Poker Circuit over the last two years, you’ve no doubt heard of Alexandru Masek. In a short period of time, the 27-year-old law graduate from St. Louis has won an astounding four gold rings, just one behind all-time leader Mark “Pegasus” Smith.

What’s more impressive, Masek won his first two rings while playing part time during law school. Now, Masek is turning his attention to poker full time and has high hopes of taking his game to the next level, which includes taking over the top spot on the WSOP Circuit, where he has 21 cashes totaling $247,649.

PokerNews caught up with Masek to learn a little bit more about his victories, how he got in the game, and his plans for the 2012 WSOP.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I grew up and went to college in St. Louis. I enjoyed my time there a lot and still go back several times a year. In 2008 I moved to San Diego for law school, and after graduating, I moved to Los Angeles late last year. Though I liked both St. Louis and San Diego, neither city has great year-round poker tournament action. I knew that if I wanted to really concentrate on tournament poker I’d have to live in a city like L.A., where there seems to be a good series going on basically every week.

How did you learn to play poker and when did you decided to pursue it more seriously?

I began playing in 2003 right as I was starting college. The poker boom in the U.S. began at the same time and it seemed like everyone at school was playing. I first started playing in games on campus freshman year and then shifted my focus to playing online as well. Since then I’ve been playing poker to some extent almost continuously. Although I realized I had a passion for the game from the beginning, I didn’t really consider playing it full time until early last year. Due to the depressed job market and low opportunity cost of postponing a legal career, I figured this would be the best time for me to dedicate several years to truly concentrate on poker.

You went to law school in San Diego in 2008 and graduated in May 2011. Did you play poker during this time? Likewise, a lot of players left school to pursue the game, did this ever cross you mind?

I kept playing throughout law school, but wasn’t able to put in as many hours as I did while I lived in St. Louis. My poker playing mostly consisted of several live tournaments a month in L.A., as well as the WSOP Circuit in San Diego every spring. I never really considered leaving school to pursue the game because I wanted to finish my education and wasn’t really sure whether I’d want to play poker full-time. During the last semester of law school I realized that my best opportunity to pursue the game would be right after graduation, and decided that moving to L.A. would put me in the best position to do that.

You said you plan on playing poker full-time for the next couple of years. What exactly are your plans and goals?

I’m going to play tournaments almost exclusively and will focus primarily on playing live. I haven’t really played online this year, but am hoping that regulation allows for online poker to return to close to the way it was before Black Friday because I’d love to be able to play online again seriously.

I find tournaments a lot more engaging than cash games, and have never really had much fun playing cash. I’d like to avoid ever having the game feel like a grind and I know that I’m much more interested and focused when I’m playing tournaments.

My goals within the game are to constantly look for ways to improve and to put myself in good position to close out tournaments by making as many deep runs as possible. I’d certainly love to win a bracelet or World Poker Tour Main, but given the variance in the game I don’t like having results-oriented goals. I just want to focus on playing my best every time I’m at the table and improving my game as much as I can away from it.

Outside the game my primary goal right now is to take and pass the California Bar Exam at the end of the summer. I’ve already spent a good amount of time preparing for it and will try to balance studying and playing poker for the next couple of months.

How often did you play online? What sites and games?

I played online pretty frequently while in St. Louis. I’ve mostly played tournaments the entire time, starting off with sit-n-go’s and then switching to MTTs. The first couple of years in San Diego I didn’t have as much time to play and generally stuck to live tournaments. Last year I started playing online regularly again and was looking forward to playing a lot more after graduation. Unfortunately after Black Friday that option was no longer really there, so I’ve been playing mostly live tournaments over the last year.

Do you have any money trapped online? If so, how much?

I have a bit stuck on Full Tilt Poker. Fortunately it wasn’t enough to affect my summer plans last year, but it’s certainly an amount I’d like to get back. I wrote it off early last summer and haven’t really relied on it to any extent. I haven’t followed much of the Full Tilt news but hopefully we get at least a portion of it back at some point.

What do your family and friends think of your poker success and plans to play full time?

My parents have always encouraged me to do whatever makes me happy, and they know how much I enjoy playing so they’ve been supportive. They emphasized finishing my education before focusing on poker, which I’m grateful for because that’s how you really get to keep your professional options open.

My friends are happy for me and have been very supportive as well. My non-poker friends are intrigued by the flexibility that playing poker affords, but I think they understand that success at the game takes dedication and hard work just like in any other field.

You have four WSOP Circuit rings, one behind all-time leader “Mark “Pegasus” Smith. Do you hope to catch and perhaps surpass him one day?

I’d certainly like to catch Pegasus. Mark is a great guy who always wishes me luck when we see each other on the Circuit and I wish him the best both on and off the felt. At the same time I’m pretty competitive so I’d definitely like to catch, and hopefully surpass him. I also saw that at the WSOP Circuit in St. Louis a couple of weeks ago two more players won their fourth rings, Kurt Jewell and Kyle Cartwright, and I am happy for both of them. I think the competition will encourage all of us to travel and play more of these tournaments, while hopefully bringing more exposure to the WSOP Circuit as well.

What would you rather have, six WSOP Circuit rings to give you the record, or a WSOP bracelets? Why?

That’s a tough question. On one hand, the WSOP bracelet is historically the ultimate token of achievement for tournament players. On the other hand, there are plenty of players that have won a WSOP bracelet, but none that have won six circuit rings.

Winning six rings shows greater consistency over a longer period of time, but the Circuit fields are also significantly smaller than most WSOP tournaments in Vegas. In the end, I’d rather have a bracelet because they are much harder to win. In any single WSOP tournament at the Rio the field will be much bigger than in an average Circuit tournament. There are only 60 bracelet events each summer, yet close 200 Circuit ring events throughout the year. And with the bracelet, the prize money is also a lot higher!

Which of your four ring victories means the most to you and why?

Probably the last one, from Lake Tahoe in November. My opponent, Scott Stewart, is one of the toughest players I’ve ever played heads up at the end of a tournament and I had to focus very hard on not making any mistakes given that he was playing really creatively.

Heads-up play took a couple of hours, as it kept going back and forth, and I felt like either one of us could have won it. I had a good number of friends on the rail that day that were in Tahoe playing that circuit as well, so that aspect of it was certainly fun and I’m very appreciative of their support. It’s also the tournament that made me realize I want to focus a bit more on the WSOP Circuit, as I’ve now traveled to five or six circuit stops this year after only playing at the San Diego stop last year.

What is your favorite stop on the Circuit and why?

The San Diego (Rincon) Circuit each spring. Some don’t like it because it’s almost an hour away from San Diego itself, but I like it because I get to see some of the San Diego people that I used to play with in the smaller card rooms while I lived there. I’ve had the most success at that stop as well, winning two rings there while in school, since it was the only Circuit I could play regularly while still focusing on my classes. I’m pretty sure it’s the only stop that I’ve played multiple times, having played there each of the last four years.

What’s you favorite memory from a Circuit stop, but one that didn’t occur on the felt?

Well, I can’t really think of a specific story that wouldn’t be embarrassing to someone. I’ll just say that in general, from what I’ve seen and heard, Matt Chang seems to have the best time on the Circuit.

You finished runner-up to Freddy Deeb in the WSOP Circuit Bicycle Casino Main Event. What was it like squaring off against a true poker legend?

Playing heads up against Freddy was great. He’s one of the most accomplished tournament players ever, and is undoubtedly very talented. I was very comfortable playing against him and feel like I played really well, yet it was also a great learning experience for me.

Although it ultimately came down to a big preflop coin flip that he ended up winning to knock me out, Freddy certainly outplayed me in some spots, opening my eyes to some adjustments I had to make in my own game in order to improve. It’s also the biggest score I’ve ever had playing the game, so it solidified my bankroll and put me in good position to ride through the variance swings that will inevitably come when playing full time.

Do you play any games other than NLHE? If not, do you have any plans to add them to your arsenal?

I don’t really play anything other than hold’em. Since I mainly play tournaments, I’ve focused on the game where the majority of tournament money is won, which is NLHE. I think if I played more cash games I’d spend some time trying to really learn the other games as that would likely be more profitable, but outside the WSOP every summer, all the major tournaments in the U.S. are NLHE. I’ll likely focus more on some of the other games later on in the future, but won’t concentrate much on them for now.

Will you be at this year’s WSOP? If so, what events do you plan to play?

I plan on being in Vegas for a good part of the summer playing the WSOP. I’ve been traveling to play live tournaments for most of the last two months and am looking forward to just taking it easy at home in L.A. this month.

My primary focus for the next couple of weeks will be to continue preparing for the bar exam, and then to head to Vegas for most of June for the WSOP. I plan on coming back home at the end of June for a week or two to relax and finish studying before returning to Vegas for the Championship freeroll and the Main Event. In all, I think I’ll probably play 15 to 20 WSOP tournaments this summer, after which I’ll take the bar exam at the end of July.

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April 20 2012, Brett Collson, Donnie Peters

Phil Ivey is often referred to as the “Tiger Woods of Poker.” Will the two superstars collide on the felts next week? We’ll bring you that story, as well as the results of the inaugural Manila Millions, in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.

In Case You Missed It

Jonathan Little was one of countless poker pros affected by the events of Black Friday. Chad Holloway caught up with Little to find out how Black Friday changed his life.

Do you have what it takes to make it in poker? Alec Torelli’s latest blog focuses on finding a passion for what you do.

The European Poker Tour Berlin Main Event played down to a final table on Day 4. Davidi Kitai held the chip lead and was in position to win his third leg of poker’s Triple Crown.

William Hill’s license application in Nevada has been delayed again. Read about that and more in the latest Inside Gaming.

Is data mining good or bad for the online poker industry? Rich Ryan takes a look at the feud between PokerStars and Poker Table Ratings.

Day 2 of the World Poker Tour Seminole Hard Rock Showdown Main Event concluded on Thursday. Clyde Hinton held the chip lead, but poker pros Tommy Vedes and John Dolan were close on his heels.

How was the high-stakes action at the PokerStars tables this week? Read the Online Railbird Report to find out the week’s biggest winners and losers.

@AsianSpa was back with his latest blog on Friday. This week he talks about Black Friday, a robbery in Las Vegas, and more.

Did you miss anything from the past week? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Lynn Gilmartin and Laura Cornelius break down all the big stories in the PokerNews Weekly.

Tiger’s Poker Night

Golf legend Tiger Woods will be hosting a charity poker tournament at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on Friday, April 27, 2012. The event will benefit the Tiger Woods Foundation, a program that raises college scholarship money for underprivileged youth.

The $10,000 entry fee includes a seat in the poker tournament plus a guest to attend Tiger’s Poker Night, one suite at THEhotel at Mandalay Bay for Friday and Saturday nights and two VIP tickets to attend Tiger Jam, featuring Jon Bon Jovi and Friends on Saturday, April 28.

The event will bring out the best of the best as Phil Hellmuth will emcee the poker tournament and Doyle Brunson will also be on hand to take part in the action. That’s 21 World Series of Poker titles right there; Tiger has 14 Major Championships of his own.

The winner of the tournament will receive a foursome (of golf) with Tiger Woods. Other prizes include a putting lesson with Woods, Pro-Am spots at PGA TOUR events, golf rounds at exclusive courses across the country, autographed memorabilia items, and a Nike Golf custom club-fitting.

For more information, check out the Tiger Woods Foundation website.

Self-made Millionaire

On Friday, the inaugural HKD$1,000,000 (USD$129,000) buy-in Manila Millions Super High Roller took place at Resorts World Manila’s Genting Club in the Philippines. The prestigious event attracted 30 players, including poker pros Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey, JC Tran, Johnny Chan, Nam Le, John Juanda and Joe Hachem.

Surprisingly, all of the aforementioned pros busted out before the money bubble, where the remaining five players were left battling for a top prize of HKD$13,080,000 (USD$1.685 million). After American pro Keith Gipson busted out in fifth place, Macau regular Richard Yong exited in fourth place. According to Poker Portal Asia, Yong was all in preflop with pocket eights against Allan Le’s pocket queens and was unable to improve on a king-high board.

China’s Sun Sheng was the next to bow out, leaving Le and Devan Tang competing for the title. A swingy heads-up match ended when a short-stacked Tang shoved on the button for 800,000 with and Le called with . The brought no help to Teng, who collected just over USD$1million for his runner up finish. Le’s USD$1.7 million score is far and away the largest of his career.

Manila Millions Results

The last player standing in the way of Liu and the win was Larry Abrams. On the final hand, Liu set Abrams all in for his last 750,000 holding the with the blinds at 60,000/120,000/10,000. Abrams made the call with the looking to double up. After the flop gave Liu the lead when the rolled out, the on the turn and on the river left Abrams with the losing hand and a second-place finish.

Borgata Spring Poker Open Final Table Results

Prior to this victory, Liu had $158,913 in career tournament earnings and his largest score was $42,734. This is also his first victory on the felt since November 2009.

For more information, visit the Borgata Spring Poker Open blog.

World Poker Tour Hits Spain

The Main Event of the WPT National Series Marbella kicked off in Costa del Sol, Spain on Friday. The “1,650 tournament at Casino Marbella runs through April 20 and offers players a chance to re-enter if they are eliminated on Day 1a.

Raúl Mestre, Kent Lundmark, Tomeu Gomila, Daniel Hernández, and Juan Maceiras were among the 166 players in the field on Day 1a. Friday’s action was winding down with less than 100 players still alive as of press time.

The World Poker Tour has also WPT National events in Mauritius, Denmark and France this year and expects to announce partnerships with a number of additional venues. Winners do not qualify for a WPT title, Player of the Year points or a WPT World Championship buy-in, but the affordable buy-ins allow players to compete for big prizes against some of the top players around Europe.

For more information on the WPT National Series events, visit the World Poker Tour website.

Girls on Film

Gaëlle Garcia Diaz is one of the hosts of the European Poker Tour television production. Lynn Gilmartin gets to know more about Gaëlle in the inaugural edition of Girls on Film.

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