Online Cash Game Legend Ben Sulsky Eyeing First World Series Of Poker Bracelet'Sauce123' Has Chance At Players Championship Title |
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Toronto-based poker pro Ben Sulsky decided to enter the $50,000 Players Championship this year at the WSOP thanks to recently adding the mixed games to his online play. So far this year, Sulsky is up around $930,000 online, bringing his lifetime profits on PokerStars to nearly $4 million.
On Wednesday, Sulsky entered day 4 of the Players Championship with the eighth-largest chip stack out of the 19 remaining. All were competing for the $1,270,086 top prize.
Card Player had the chance to talk to Sulsky about his high-stakes online poker career.
Brian Pempus: Can you talk about how your year is going?
Ben Sulsky: My year is going well. I have been playing more mixed games this year, and still a lot of pot-limit Omaha and the occasional no-limit. More people are playing mixed games as more people become specialized in the big-bet games and big-bet has gotten more figured out. As this happens, the edge between professionals gets smaller. There are a lot big-bet players who have been branching out, and I am one of those.
BP: Can you talk about any leaks in your online game you have plugged over the years? How have you improved over the course of hundreds of thousands of hands?
BS: Well, I think I have always been someone who enjoys playing poker and the process of competing in very tough games. I think it’s more small incremental improvements than anything really specific or big that I have done.
BP: Have a lot of online players with leaks in their games sort of faded away given how far the game has progressed over the years in terms of poker theory?
BS: It definitely seems like fewer of the people playing the big live cash games are putting in a lot of volume online. There were definitely more high-stakes recreational players back in the day. A lot of the people playing the big stakes online and who might be underdogs are big winners in the live games and are testing their skills. It’s not the same poker climate that it used to be.
BP: A couple of years ago you had a pretty big downswing (losing around $1.7 million according to HSDB). Can you talk about getting through that period?
BS: When I was winning a lot I began to overestimate myself, so my big losing year helped me get more down to earth and grow out of some of my ego in poker that got out of hand. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to admit when you are over-confident. I think it’s part of growing as a player.
BP: Did you take some time off after that tough year?
BS: Not really. I moved down in stakes and tried to not be as big of an idiot (laughs).
BP: Who are some of your toughest opponents these days?
BS: Alex Kostritsyn is a very good player. Mikael Thuritz is also very tough. And then just a lot of the usual suspects. I shy away from Doug Polk in no-limit hold’em. A lot of people stay away from him, including myself.
BP: Phil Ivey has been getting beat up online for quite awhile now. Do you think he has been dethroned as the online player to beat?
BS: I think Ivey is a great player and he plays everyone at the highest possible stakes, all the time. That’s a very tough game selection strategy. There’s also a ton of variance, and he’s playing huge. I don’t think the fact that he has lost a ton of money [lately] in the absolute sense means he’s a losing player online right now. But it shouldn’t be a surprise that he isn’t steamrolling anyone anymore.
BP: Do you find high-stakes games online stressful anymore?
BS: I would say demanding. The connotation of stressful is that it takes a toll on you, like you aren’t sleeping well or that it bleeds into other parts of your life.
BP: Last question: A lot of players have come and gone over the years, so what would you credit your longevity in online poker to exactly?
BS: I think a lot of it is that I’ve always played a pretty solid style of poker and I’ve tried to play in such a way that I can continue improving on what I’ve done before. I think I am able to succeed in a variety of game climates. I’ve always enjoyed playing the game perhaps more than other people who are more focused on, you know, the gambling aspect. I think that has allowed me to keep playing well through both good times and bad times, whereas people with more result-oriented goals struggled through the ups and downs.
For more coverage from the summer series, visit the 2015 WSOP landing page, complete with a full schedule, news, player interviews and event recaps.
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