When I Was A Donk – Jonathan Karamalikis

In this series, Card Player asks top pros to rewind back to their humble beginnings and provide insights regarding the mistakes, leaks, and deficiencies that they had to overcome in order to improve their games.

Australia’s Jonathan Karamalikis broke out as an online poker star and tore up the competition, racking up nearly $6.5 million on the virtual felt. Over the years, however, he’s more than proven himself in the live arena as well with another $3 million in earnings.

In 2010, Karamalikis took down the APPT Sydney main event for $454,304. He is currently having his best year on the live circuit, having finished second in a CPPT Venetian event in June for $429,611, and following that up with a runner-up showing in the Bellagio Cup for another $523,343.

Here, Karamalikis explains the dangers of poker autopilot.

“When I first started playing, I wasn’t very good, but I made up for it by being obsessed with the game. I was always focused, and trying to make the best decisions I could possibly make in any situation.”

“As I got better at the game, I started to get lazy and fall into bad habits. I went through a period where I was completely unfocused, and often not paying attention to the important details. I would make bets with no regard to proper bet size. I would call bets with no plan for the turn or river. I was basically just mashing the keys and relying on skill to win.”

“But it takes more than skill, you need to be focused and playing your best game every time. Part of it was taking the game for granted. After you start winning, you start to expect to win, and you study the game less. You pay less attention. You start blaming luck for why you are losing.”

“After losing for a while, I realized that it wasn’t luck, it was me. I changed my environment, starting picking the brains of other players, and worked my way back. It was a big wake-up call for me, and nowadays I’m better about being self-aware when I do start drifting and avoiding that autopilot mode that sometimes happens to poker players.” ♠