Capture The Flag -- Matt Marafioti

Although Matt “ADZ124” Marafioti has recently found success on the live-tournament circuit, he is best known for his ability to maintain his concentration across dozens of the biggest high-stakes cash games online simultaneously.

The 22-year-old Toronto native has made his living over the past three years by grinding at nearly every limit, and in 2009, he achieved Supernova Elite status on PokerStars. Marafioti is bold and brash, and isn’t afraid to tell it like it is to his opponents.

Julio Rodriguez: Congratulations on achieving Supernova Elite status. Can you explain for our readers what it takes to achieve that status?

Matt Marafioti: Only 30 players out of 30 million accounts on PokerStars achieved it last year. You need to acquire 1 million FPPs [Frequent Player Points] over the course of the year, and then you get the perks
associated with that status. For instance, I get a $160,000 package from the site to various tournaments, including the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo.

In December, I was way behind. I figured out that I needed to play 15,000 hands every day to make it. So, I would wake up at about 6 p.m. every day and play poker until about 11 p.m. Then, I would go to the bar for a couple of hours, and come home at 2 a.m. and grind until about noon before going to sleep. I did that every day until I hit my goal sometime around the 27th of the month. It was a brutal schedule, but it was well worth it to get the payoff.

It took a lot of work and practice. I remember that when I first started playing on PokerStars, I had a lot of trouble playing even four tables of 25¢-50¢; it’s a completely different story today, as I can play up to 35 tables of $10-$20 and $25-$50. I also mix limits in there, along with tournaments, which can really throw you off. You have to pay attention, because there are different regulars at each limit, and tournaments are a different animal entirely. I’ve definitely come a long way in my poker career.

JR: Many players struggle when multitabling [playing multiple tables simultaneously]. What was your progression from four tables to 35 like?

MM: Here’s the thing. I was able to play eight tables at a certain point, but I wouldn’t say that I was able to play them well. When I moved up to 24 tables, it was the same situation. I could play them, but I wasn’t playing them well. To be honest, the only thing you can really do is practice and practice and practice. After a while, the smoothness just comes to you. Now you are in the rhythm and are doing things that you used to be able to do at only four tables. People are watching you, and they can’t keep up with all the action, but you are on top of it all and are making quick decisions whenever the next table pops up, because you are now used to it.

JR: Do you ever experience any time-outs?

MM: In my career as a multitabler, I would say that I’ve lost at least $100,000 from time-outs. Coming up as a player, there was a period of adjustment as I increased the number of tables that I was playing, so there was definitely some times when I accidentally folded the best hand. The other day on Full Tilt, I was playing $25-$50 and we all were about $10,000 deep. There was a raise in front of me, and I accidentally folded pocket kings. There was a reraise behind me, and then the initial raiser reraised and was called. The flop came down K-Q-5, and one of those guys had pocket queens. Of course, it was bet and raised on the flop, and I was sitting there sick to my stomach, knowing that my mistake just cost me about $15,000 or so.

But that being said, at the end of the day, you need to evaluate the pros and cons of the situation. When you are running hot on 10 tables of $25-$50 and win $60,000 in one session, you are OK with the occasional time-out. I really think that if I’m playing a smaller number of tables — say, two — I’m almost unbeatable. I won’t win as much, but it’s going to be very hard for me to lose. When I’m playing 24 tables, I may go off for $20,000 or $30,000, but when I win, I’ll make that two or three times over. I could sit there and grind out a profit playing two tables, but I’d much rather be in action and go after the big score.

JR: They say that the more tables you play, the more robotic your decision-making becomes. Do you think that’s a correct statement?

MM: I don’t really know if that’s true in my case. I’ve made it a point to really get to know the games of all of the regulars at all of the limits I play, so when a situation comes up during a game, I’m ready with the right play. In tournaments, you may see more automatic decision-making, but in cash games, I don’t think the number of tables affects my creativity, at least when I’m in a hand.

The thing is, I’m known as a pretty tight player, especially preflop. You just can’t play too loosely preflop when you are on 24 tables, because you are going to get run down. You’ll also be playing too many small pots. When you are on that many tables, you want to be in as many big pots as possible, with big hands. So, in that sense, I can see how some would say that my play becomes more robotic, but once I’ve decided to enter a pot, I’m not afraid to mix it up based on my knowledge of my opponents.

JR: What advice would you give to a player who is looking to lower his variance by adding more tables to his sessions?

MM: If you want to learn to grind that many tables at once, you first need to take care of the basics. Get yourself a good setup, maybe a couple of extra monitors, and make sure that you have a stable high-speed Internet connection. Shut out all other distractions, such as surfing the Web or watching TV. Then, it’s all about practice and getting used to making decisions at a quicker pace. I’m also very big on bankroll management these days, simply because I used to be reckless with my money. I would run a small deposit up to $50,000 in a week, and lose it all the next day. Those were hard lessons to learn, but now I have the discipline to take those rushes and hold on to them for extended periods of time. Now, those $50,000 weeks can turn into million-dollar years, just because I’m experienced enough to control myself and my game.