It was a good week for Smart Spin members! We promoted a few $60's players to Diamond group, so they can start battling other regs at $100 Spin & Go's!

But we are also happy because TomP147 joins our team as a new hand judge!

It's a huge step for him and he worked really hard for it. He has beaten all Spin & Go limits and now he sits comfortably at $100's! You may also remember him from hitting a jackpot at $60 Spin & Go. He was fighting for $600,000 and we've also made a session review of his game for HighStakes Spins series, so you are welcome to watch it - it's free for everyone!

But for now, let's focus on a player, not on a single tournament:

Graph only from $100 Spin & Go's

Smart Spin: Hello TomP147, it's so nice to talk to you! So, you just took another step in your Spin & Go journey, you've become our hand judge on Wednesday. I'd like to congratulate you and also ask: how hard did you work for it?

TomP147: Hello, it's my pleasure. Thank you :) Yes, I'm very happy because for me it's a reward for all months of grinding many hours and hard working on my game. I'm always trying to be better than the day before - I'm spending more than 160h a month on poker and these are the moments when you see that you are doing good job. It's very motivational and nice to know that founders appreciated my work.

Smart Spin: As I've heard, before you were just recreational 180-man grinder, although you made some money from it. But why did you convert to Spin & Go's?

TomP147: The main reason was in 180-man you are limited - you can play only from ~17-2/3 (Polish time) and in other hours traffic isn't good enough. Also, you have to play at least 6-hours session. In Spin & Go's it's a lot easier to plan your day and balance poker with other aspects of life. Another reason is in 180-man you are mostly playing autopilot push/fold game which can be boring after some time. Spin & Go's are very dynamic - there is a lot of preflop and a lot of postflop game and you have to be very focused all the time because there is a huge room for mistakes. That's why they are most profitable games at the moment and in my opinion will be for at least next 2-3 years.

Smart Spin: I know it may be somehow private, but I hope you will share your story with our members. I've heard you dropped from the uni to play poker.

TomP147: I didn't drop but I took year off. I should be an engineer 3 months ago but I will finish on January 2017. I'm studying IT on good university in Wrocław. It's very good vocation these days and you can make good money from it - but it's not my true passion. That's why when I saw Smart Spin offer, I wasn't thinking about it very long - in my opinion at the moment this is the best and the fastest path to become professional and successful poker player and I'm one of many examples :) Coming back to my studies - while I'm on dean's leave, I'm still finishing a few courses (that's why it took me so long to get to $100's ). It was a little bit hard to balance it in October and November, but now it doesn't take much time for me to do everything and I can focus on poker. I'm still planning to finish 1st degree and I'm treating this as my plan B, which every day seems like less and less useful.

Smart Spin: You started from $7's and now you are at $100's. It was accomplished after 10 months, but sometimes we can see people struggling to beat a single limit in a half a year. My questions is - what are they doing wrong or what were you doing better?

TomP147: First of all, I was very motivated because I had clear goals and I knew exactly why I'm playing and learning. I was (and I still am) thinking bigger. I think very important factor is self-belief. When I started at $7's, I was 100% sure I will get to $100's and it will be just one of the milestones and only thing I can't predict is how long it will take.

A lot of people don't believe they deserve it or they have to be lucky to make their dreams come true. In my opinion you can do everything you want and sky is the limit, but you have to be willing to work hard enough to get this. Our time is limited, so don't waste it - especially on things you don't want to do or you don't like to do. From the practical side, the best advice I can give you is to not be shy or scared and ask about everything you are not sure. You have forum where you can write 24/7, you can make comments under videos or get your play reviewed on coachings etc. I think people in Smart Spin are not exploiting the full potential of this project and in the past I was one of them. If I could change it, I would be much more active and I'm sure I would move through the stakes much faster. Of course it's also very important to make a lot of calculations and analyses on your own, especially when you are starting.

Smart Spin: Also, we cannot forget you hit the highest multiplier available - 10,000x. It was at $60 Spin & Go and I am sure you gave it a lot of thought since then. How was it when you played this tournament? Do you regret anything? Did it change you somehow?

TomP147: It was very nice experience and if you want to know more, you can watch iJustGamble's High Stakes Spins Episode 4 where we are analyzing this tournament and go through the hands. I don't regret anything and prefer to think about the future than the past. It didn't change me, I just perceive it as nice bonus which helped me a little bit in becoming poker pro because I don't need to be worry about my finances for some time and I can fully focus on improving my game.

Smart Spin: As a judge you will contribute to make better players from Smart Spin members. Is there something you'd like to focus on?

TomP147: I'm always trying to explain everything as good as I can. I'm one of the judges who moved all the way up from $7's, so we still remember what uncertainties and doubts we've got earlier. My main goal is to help people avoid mistakes I made and help them to not make the same mistakes again which will help them improve much faster. Of course, by being a judge I'm also learning myself when I post my opinions about hands, so it's very nice side effect of this duty.

Smart Spin: So, going back to your absence from taking education. Do you plan to ever come back? Because it seems like it's not going to be this year, because you are moving in with ClarKent114.

TomP147: After vacations I still have to write my Engineer's Thesis and finish first grade but I'm not going to start Master's degree for sure.

And yes, in 2 days I'm moving to Clarks' place and I can't wait for it. He is very experienced and excellent player. For sure together we will work much harder on our game and motivate each other to grind more.

Smart Spin: Do you have any idea, any view on what you are going to do in, let's call it, a "grind house"? And what do you want to achieve in the next half a year?

TomP147: We will do analyses, reviews and some small challenges. In the next half year I want to become a coach and reach the skill level of players like TeemTeem, CuAt69UsdSng or ytrer. I'm sure when we will combine Clarks' skill and experience with my "sky is the limit" attitude and discipline, we will crush this game!

Smart Spin: Good luck!

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