Max Pescatori Becomes Winningest European In WSOP History

In terms of bracelets, no European-born player can compare to Italian Max Pescatori. The 44-year-old grinder, who is based out of Las Vegas, won his first bracelet in 2006, second in 2008, and then went on a long downswing at the World Series of Poker. This summer, Pescatori claimed bracelets number three and four. He won both a $10,000 Seven Card Stud Eight-or-better and $1,500 Razz event, moving his all time winnings to more than $3.6 million.

Last summer was a decent one for him, so he thought he had incrementally built up some confidence and momentum heading into this summer. He was right.

His first bracelet of the summer moved him into a four-way tie among Europeans at the WSOP. His second win left just 23 men in the history of poker with more bracelets than him.

Card Player caught up with Pescatori prior to the main event to talk his career on the felt and also about the state of poker in Europe, which many say is at a critical juncture.

Brian Pempus: How do you feel about being the top European ever at the WSOP?

Max Pescatori: It’s an honor. It’s something that makes me proud. I am one of the guys who really toured Europe, even in the early 2000s. I used to go to France, Poland, England, so I saw many different styles of play. To be able to surpass in one year the other really good players is a great accomplishment.

BP: Can you talk about trying to persevere through the long cold streak?

MP: I felt like I was trying my best, but poker exploded in Italy, and it took a lot of time away from my mixed games, which is my main game. Going to Italy I had to play no-limit, since they don’t really play the other games, and it took away a lot. You need to practice consistently to be at the top. To win at the WSOP, you have to beat the best in the world. I changed my training for the past couple of years, trying to practice the mixed games a few months leading up to the WSOP. It helped. I feel completely different at the table than I did in 2010 to 2012, when I was struggling. I was making mistake after mistake and going crazy. I knew I was doing things wrong.

BP: Do you feel like, given how much you traveled around, you’ve been able to take something from all those different styles and add something to your game?

MP: Well, you do build experience through the years because everything can help. You also see a lot of mistakes that poker players make; they can kind of self-destruct for many, many reasons. This is a difficult job. People think it’s easy and it’s beautiful. I do think it is one of the greatest jobs someone can have. I’d put it about the same as a pro golfer, but we have more distractions. First of all, we have the buy-ins that we have to put up. The fact that I didn’t start as a kid playing [poker], first I got a job, a second job, a third job helped because I went into the game knowing how hard it is to make money in the real world. It helped me last a long time and to enjoy what I am doing and to not exaggerate things.

BP: Do you think your comeback at the 2015 WSOP is a sign of a great poker player?

MP: Absolutely. This is a sign of a person who takes poker very seriously, who loves the game and the competition. I see a lot of players today who have a lot amazing talent and screw it up in some way. It’s better for me, but at the same time, you have to look at what other people do wrong. It’s funny because in Italy I was doing okay, but when I was coming back [to the WSOP], it was a much different type of competition. You have to adjust. I hope to adjust every year.

BP: How is poker in Italy these days after the boom there?

MP: Unfortunately, it has been challenging. The volume of [online] play went down a lot. Live poker is still doing really well, but online has been doing really poorly. I think the reason is that there was a pro bubble where you had, like, 150 sponsored players in Italy. They were getting money from companies, of course grinding a lot, and others were grinding a lot because they were trying to build their personal brand. When the companies started struggling and the game got tougher, sponsored players started fading. It was like a bubble burst. We did reach a point where I think it will stabilize, but it has been a really bad year for Italian poker. Hopefully we’ll make it through. It’s a game loved by many people.

BP: Can you talk about the state of poker player sponsorship?

MP: No matter how much you win, you have to be humbled if a company takes you as a testimonial or sponsorship. You have to do everything that is good for promoting this brand. Often companies were very disappointed with poker players because they didn’t want to do this or do that, they didn’t understand that a business was investing in a player, and the player has to give back with great effort. So I try to be involved with social media and try to be opinionated, but at the same time promoting the brand that I represent. In this era, it’s IGT and their subsidiary Lottomatica.

BP: During the poker boom, it was pretty easy to get a sponsorship and you didn’t have to do much.

MP: Yes, it is challenging these days. I think poker players didn’t really embrace sponsorship as a real job, they thought of it as free money. They did what they had to do to get the free money, but they didn’t want to do work for it. They didn’t promote the brand. I always took it seriously, and the fact that I still have a sponsor is in part because of my winnings, but it’s also because no company has ever fired me, I give everything that I can. I give good value.

BP: Do you feel like in Europe poker these days is on a downswing and something needs to happen for it to come back? Not just Italy, but across the continent.

MP: It’s strange that the numbers are at the best they’ve ever been for live poker, but they are down online. It’s unexpected, at least I didn’t expect it to keep going down online but keep growing live. People love poker, but there is something that needs to be done. Probably liquidity is one of the problems. The other negative thing is that there is a company that almost has a monopoly in the market. You know, I don’t even know what the future steps are that Europe can do. It’s an even bigger problem in the United States. It’s kind of ridiculous to me that not even the states can get together. I understand that the whole country doesn’t have the legality, but I find it very weird that one state, Nevada, is going to have a different liquidity than New Jersey and maybe California next year. That, to me, is bizarre, but it’s the way the law is made in the US (laughs). Hopefully the states can agree and all come to together…if there is one brand only, it is bad for poker players because [the company] won’t sponsor many. Competition is better in every industry.

BP: Can you talk about how live and online in Europe compare in terms of rake?

MP: They don’t. In Europe in general, rake in the live poker room is absurdly high. In fact, the tournaments do well, but the cash games struggle. They don’t want to change it. We tried to explain that if you build a poker room with a normal rake, higher than in Las Vegas, but still an acceptable rake, you can help the game last for a long time. They don’t want to listen. Some casinos are a little bit understanding of this. Hopefully Italy can lead the change. France is awful. The UK isn’t as bad.

BP: Going back to early in your career, what got you to Las Vegas and into the gaming industry?

MP: Originally, I came to Vegas because I saw a place where I could just learn English and learn how to deal roulette and craps and then go back to Italy to do this. Doing that in Italy is a great job. I love gaming and casinos, and I asked myself what is best way to be in this industry and get paid for it. I thought it was a good idea because the casino, the gambling, and the chips, no matter which side you are on, you are playing. I did that for awhile. So I came here and went to school and got a job, and then it just happened that I kept doing well in poker. One day, people said, “you should be a professional,” and so I tried. In 1999, I did like half and half, and I kept winning and winning. At one point, I just left my job and tried to be a poker player. I thought it would be okay if it didn’t work out.

BP: Do you feel that because you made your living playing cards before the poker boom you are one of the veterans around the WSOP these days?

MP: Definitely, I am (laughs). It’s fun sometimes to see some of the old guys because they enjoy seeing someone who has been playing for years doing well. I remember looking at Daniel [Negreanu] and watching him play. I was always one or two levels behind. It was fun playing with him at the [stud hi-lo] final table. He is very sporty. He is very opinioned, and I don’t agree with him many times, but he represents a company very well. The morning after I won, he sent me a message saying congratulations. That’s the way you are supposed to be as a poker player. I’ve tried to do the same thing on my own.

BP: When you are Doyle Brunson’s age, how many bracelets do you hope you’ll have by then?

MP: I haven’t thought about it, but it’s a nice question. I think I am someone who will love the game as long as Doyle Brunson has. I truly enjoy the competition. I still enjoy playing cash games. I’ve learned to control myself a little more at the table. At times, I did get rattled by several things. I don’t know the number of bracelets, because you never know how the WSOP will be ten years from now. Nobody expected it to grow this big. There was a feeling that they were doing a good job, but we didn’t know back then. If it keeps growing like this, or at least stays the same, it will be interesting to see how many I can get. Year by year, I always thought if you could win one every three or four years, it’s really good. Hopefully, I can just get more shots. Next year I am going to expect to do something really good again. This year will build up new confidence, because this year I changed my preparation.

BP: It seems like you are sure-bet for the Poker Hall of Fame now. Have you thought about this yet?

MP: I have. Someone mentioned it to me. There are many players who deserve to be in. Because of the fact that I am the European with the most bracelets now puts me in a good position. If the public thinks I deserve it, I will be very happy. I think I have been a good ambassador for the game. Just to be nominated would be really awesome. ♠

Italian Has Career Year At WSOP

Pescatori got his summer off to a solid start by making a deep run in the $1,000 hyper no-limit hold’em that began during the WSOP’s first weekend. He ended up finishing 140th out of a field of 1,436. Sometimes getting that first cash out of the way right off the bat is important for the rest of the summer. Pescatori didn’t waste any time after that cash.

In the ninth event on the 2015 WSOP schedule, the $1,500 razz, Pescatori outlasted a field of 462, including bracelet winners Eli Elezra and Cyndy Violette to capture the $155,947 first-place prize and his third career bracelet. With his first win of the summer, Pescatori moved into a tie with Davidi Kitai, George Danzer and Dominik Nitsche for most bracelets won by a European-born player.

It took until Event no. 27, the $10,000 Seven-Card Stud Championship, for Pescatori to record his third cash of the summer, but it was a strong showing. Pescatori finished eighth and was paid out nearly three times his investment. It was Pescatori’s 47th career cash at the WSOP.

The $1,500 pot-limit Omaha, the 36th event on the schedule, brought some chances for Pescatori to make another final table, but he ended up exiting in 45th for $5,692. That was basically the same story for the $1,500 10-game mix, which Pescatori finished 32nd in for $2,990. Like a true poker pro, Pescatori was able to bounce back easily from those deep runs that fell short.

In the $10,000 Seven-Card Stud Eight-or-Better Championship, Pescatori was able make another final table, but later saw his stack whittled down to just three big bets during four-handed play. Undeterred, Pescatori battled back and eventually sat with all the chips for a $292,158 payday and second bracelet of the summer. Remarkably, a super short-stacked Pescatori was able to outlast Daniel Negreanu, who finished third, and Stephen Chidwick, who finished as the runner-up.

“This is a streaky game,” said Pescatori, who considers stud to actually be his best game. “You need some luck, of course, but if you can hang in there and then catch some cards, if you are determined, you can make up a lot of ground in just a few hands. That’s what happened.”

Pescatori and Brian Hastings, who won the $10,000 Seven-Card Stud Championship, were the only double bracelet winners this summer. Heading into the 2015 WSOP, there had been 13 consecutive years of double bracelet winners at the summer series.

After the fourth bracelet, Pescatori didn’t take time off from tournament poker. He later finished 538th in the $1,500 no-limit hold’em 50/50 event, taking advantage of the fact that the unique event paid out half the field. Still, it was career cash no. 51, which put him closer to the top-20 all-time in WSOP cashes.

Pescatori’s seven cashes from the 2015 WSOP put him tied for seventh overall in cashes for the summer. He brought his lifetime earnings at the WSOP to $2,175,892, which makes up the majority of his slightly more than $4 million in lifetime cashes on the tournament circuit.

In 2006, thanks to his first bracelet, Pescatori had $810,000 in scores, and in 2008 when he won his second he raked in $623,000 in tournaments. Between 2008 and 2014, his best year was only about a third as large as 2008, but Pescatori persevered and retooled his tournament game. It paid off in 2015.

Max Pescatori On The Mindset To Preserve A Poker Bankroll

Arguably Pescatori’s greatest words of wisdom for poker players trying to strategize how to make it as a professional or at least bring in a nice supplemental income is on bankroll management. Pescatori has been in the game a long time, weathering a long cold streak at the WSOP, when not only the cards weren’t going his way but he wasn’t at the top of his game. He didn’t chase his losses.

Pescatori also stuck to the cash games he knew he could beat, confident that he would bounce back.

“I believe only few very people should play at the highest stakes,” Pescatori said. “I always stopped short. It’s better to have control of your bankroll instead of trying to take shots. Many people tried to play the highest games and then went broke. I don’t think it’s necessary.”

The shot-taking mentality is widespread, and while it can yield good results for some, it’s not wise if you want to keep poker as an activity you can pursue over the long-run. It can be helpful to think of your love for poker and all the hands you are going to log over the rest of your life as one big session. There’s no sense in rushing things and taking shots to accelerate your progression, according to Pescatori.

“It’s a bad teaching for people who play poker,” Pescatori said. “People should really look at their bankroll and figure out at which stakes they belong. Someone recently asked me why I didn’t play the $111,111 One Drop [High Roller]; I just didn’t think it was a good idea. You can sell pieces, sure, but I didn’t think that was a good idea. Some people look at me as a role model, and that’s my advice.” ♠