Sun, 03/20/2011 – 19:14 – PokerPages Staff

An 18 year-old Portuguese online poker player who spun an initial $30 deposit to $2 million grinding cash games has spoken about his rise to the top of the game.

Jose Macedo began playing poker several years ago after being inspired by the exploits of Tom ‘durrrr’ Dwan.

“A friend of mine had been playing poker for play money and he told me a story about this guy named durrrr.”

“How he had started with nothing and using his wits and hard work, created a fortune mastering the game. I was captivated.”

The teenager then went to his local bookstore to buy every poker book he could find to learn and analyze the varying strategies involved.

Macedo began playing on the Betfair website where he dominated the $0.01/$0.02 No Limit Hold’em tables.

He had soon amassed a bankroll of $2,500 and decided to take a shot at the $100 NLE tables.

The talented mathematician admitted he had to make significant changes to his game to progress even further.

“I noticed that the best players were playing a looser style than me. Slowly I began to open up my game and that got me to think more deeply about hands.”

Macedo then sought the advice of Dan ‘jungleman12′ Cates as he prepared for an assault on the $50/$100 Heads-Up tables.

He has remained at the nosebleed stakes since that transition and has now won over $2 million during his fledgling poker career.

Tue, 01/18/2011 – 05:22 – PokerPages Staff

Team PokerStars sponsored pro Viktor ‘Isildur1′ Blom’s meteoric rise to the top of the game was completed at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure when he was finally unveiled as the man behind the most exciting alias in high stakes cash game history.

The Scandinavian sensation recalled the moments that shaped his education in poker during an interview with a Swedish newspaper last week.

Blom admitted his interest in poker stemmed from a native episode of ‘The Poker Million’ which aired when he was a teenager.

“I started playing poker when I was 14 years old I think. With my friends and my brother. There was this program on TV, Pokermiljonen that made us pick up the game.”

“It always went well for me, but it was not until I was 18 that I realized that I could become really good.”

The 20 year-old began testing his skills online in European poker rooms before depositing his first bankroll with Full Tilt Poker in 2008.

Blom admits that he found it extremely difficult initially as he had not been prepared to face players who were more accomplished than himself.

“I started playing on American sites and there I was really stunned by how good the level was. I was not prepared, I did not know there were players even better than me.”

The Swede remains bullish about his Hold’em skills, proclaiming himself to be the finest player in the world in heads up play.

“In Hold’em Heads-Up I am probably the best of all and this experience I carry with me.”

Blom concluded by professing his love for the game and stating that money is not his primary motivation.

“Of course it is tough when you lose, but in the end it does not matter. It is just money. I play because I love it, it is that simple.”