Capture the Flag -- Eric Liu

Eric Liu is the epitome of a successful young gun in poker. While most 23-year-olds are searching for spare change in their seat cushions, Liu is banking millions of dollars by playing poker at stakes as high as $500-$1,000. Despite his seemingly innocent online moniker "p3achy_keen," players who are familiar with him know that he's one of the most dangerous players around. Six-figure swings are now just part of the job, but like almost everyone else, he had to start much, much lower.

Kristy Arnett: When did you first start playing cash games, and how did you work your way up?

Eric Liu: The first time I deposited online was my freshman year of college, and I deposited about $50 at PokerStars. I lost it all really quickly at 25¢-50¢, and I continued depositing. I think I lost like $500 initially because I didn't know of bankroll management. One time, though, I deposited $100 and sat down at two 25¢-50¢ tables, and I ran that up to $2,000. I cashed out some of it, and lost the rest of it. That was the first time I realized I could make serious money from poker.

I took a break for a while, and then in my sophomore year during winter break, I deposited $200 and ran that up to $35,000 on PartyPoker, using a 15 buy-in rule. That is, whenever I had 15 buy-ins, I would jump to the next level, and move up level by level. I was playing $2-$4 when I had a $35,000 roll. I was just about to move to $3-$6, but my parents had a problem with me playing. We kind of got into a lot of arguments. So I decided to just use poker to pay for my tuition. I cashed out about $25,000, paid for my tuition, and left about $10,000 online. Then I went on a pretty big downswing, playing $2-$4. I had to drop down to 50¢-$1, but then I won the PartyPoker bad-beat jackpot.

KA: Wow, for how much?

EL: It was for $107,000. I lost with quad eights to quad queens. I checked my account and it went from $6,000 to $113,000. After that, I jumped into the $5-$10 games, and in like a week, I started beating them. I guess the rest is history.

KA: What's your preferred game?

EL: I prefer no-limit hold'em because I started off playing no-limit, and I built my bankroll playing that. I like a game without too much variance, because losing a lot of buy-ins tilts me. When I'm playing pot-limit Omaha, it's fun when I'm winning, but when I'm losing, it's not so great. There are certain situations in pot-limit Omaha where you have to take flips, and you have to get it all in. There's just so much variance. Losing 10 or 20 buy-ins, or whatever, in one day really tilts me a lot, and it gets to me.

KA: Was there anything along the way that boosted your game to the next level?

EL: The thing that really helped me the most was definitely Card Runners. My friend told me about it, and at the time, I didn't know who Taylor Caby was or what the site was. I got introduced to it and watched him play. He was really loose, really aggressive, and taking down a lot of pots doing that. I watched a lot of Card Runners videos, and improved my game a ton. I went on a massive heater at $5-$10 and actually skipped directly to $25-$50. I took a shot, and my heater continued. The first time I played $25-$50, I won about $300,000 in less than a month.

KA: What stakes and games do you play on a regular basis now?

EL: I have been taking shots at Rail Heaven, which is $500-$1,000 and definitely the highest I've ever played. From December to around April of this year, I was playing $200-$400 pot-limit Omaha as my main game. I won a lot of money in those games, but then I went on a massive downswing. I lost about $1.3 million in two weeks, which really shocked me. That was about a third of my roll at the time.

These days, I'm playing a lot of $10-$20 and $25-$50. It's not the same amount of money as $200-$400, but it's still good money with less in swings. When I first started playing $10-$20 again, I had to force myself to value the all-in bet. I guess as a poker player, you really do lose the value of money, especially when you are sitting at the table. So, I play anywhere from $10-$20 to $500-$1,000, depending on who's playing, what my mood is, or how much I feel like gambling.

KA: Earlier, you said that you used a 15 buy-in rule when you were moving up. What rules for different levels would you recommend, and what other things should players consider before moving up in stakes?

EL: At the lower levels like $25 buy-in no-limit or $50 buy-in no-limit, you could employ a 10 buy-in rule, because people are just going to be that bad. Just play a very solid, tight-aggressive game, and if you lose half of your roll, move down. Once you get higher in stakes, like around $1-$2 or $2-$4, you should employ perhaps a 20 to 50 buy-in rule, depending on how loose your game is and how much variance there is in your game. If you are not afraid to move down, I would say a 25 buy-in rule, but if you tilt or are afraid to move down, I would say a 50 buy-in rule would be best.

KA: What is the most common mistake amateurs are making?

EL: The most common mistake would be going on tilt. Anyone who is running bad and getting bad beat a lot is not going to play his A-game. It's just a matter of knowing when to stop, and knowing when to deal with it. A lot of people don't deal with it well. They tilt, try to force things, and don't stop playing. That's when you go on massive downswings. Pure tilt can lose you 10 to 20 buy-ins, and a lot of people don't really realize it. They should definitely analyze that part of their game as one of their flaws.

KA: What advice would you give someone who chronically goes on tilt and proceeds to lose multiple buy-ins?

EL: I've heard of a few methods. I have a friend who transfers his entire bankroll to someone else to hold whenever he tilts hard or goes on a massive downswing. One time, when I was going through that massive downswing in $200-$400 pot-limit Omaha, I went to Phil Galfond and said, "Phil, here's my account. Change my password and don't let me access it for a week." Going on breaks can really help. Also, have someone who can be there to guide you, who can stop you when you are tilting and whom you can call when you are tilting.

KA: What's the most memorable hand you've ever played in a high-stakes cash game?

EL: I was playing Zigmund $300-$600 no-limit hold'em heads up, and I guess he was really drunk or on something. He was playing really crazy and just kept reraising me. Eventually, we both got pretty deep-stacked. We had about $160,000 each. I had jacks and I raised. He reraised me, and I thought about reraising, but he would probably fold a lot of the time, so I just called. The flop came down really low. It was like 8-7-3 with two hearts or something. He bet, I raised, he instantly went all in, and I instantly called. He would do this with any 8, any draw, possibly any 7, or any overpair, and he had pocket queens [laughing]. At the time, that was the biggest pot I had ever lost. It was for like $320,000. It was sick, because there was a list of the top 10 biggest pots of all time, and mine was off by like $7,000. I was kind of upset about that.

KA: What's in the future for you?

EL: I've always done a lot of community service, and the reason I'm playing poker now is because, eventually, I want to start a nonprofit organization for underprivileged minorities. My good friend Steven Lin told me to do my thing playing poker, and in about five to 10 years, we'll start that nonprofit. I definitely never saw myself playing poker, but it's a good way to give back to the world. I have another friend named Ket who made an interesting statement. He said that it would be a sin not to play poker, because he believes that we would be able to distribute, spend, and do better for the world with the money we make from poker than someone else. I want to do some good for the world and be like the Barry Greenstein figure of online poker. I want to leave behind a legacy. I want to be known for being benevolent, not a money-grubbing fool. That's why it's important to me.