Tournament Trail Q and A: Roberto RomanelloWelshman Roberto Romanello Speaks about his First High Roller Experience at EPT Deauville |
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Roberto Romanello hit the poker scene in 2007 and has since received a lot of attention including that of FullTiltPoker.com, who became his sponsor in 2008. Known for his fantastic reads, charismatic personality, and Welsh charm, Romanello is currently in search for a major first prize for reasons more important than money or fame. Card Player caught up with him just after busting out two away from the money in the high roller event at the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Deauville. He speaks about his first high roller experience, what he thinks of some of poker’s biggest names, and balancing the game with home life.
Rebecca McAdam: You’re straight from playing the high roller event. Tell me all about it.
Roberto Romanello: I had a difficult start. We had some good players on the table. I just sat back, played tight-aggressive, I was reraising a lot, and it seemed to be working for me, so I slowly built up my stack. I was always around average and then I finished the day just under average. I came back today, with a tight image, I was reraising people a lot when the pots were worth taking down. It was the only way I was surviving, I was always around half the average chips, which I was comfortable with because I knew there was a lot of action at the table and people were knocking each other out with some big stacks.
It was one big grind all the way through, and we ended up six-handed, and then five-handed, and I fancied my chances the way I was playing. I think I had sixty-something thousand chips, the average was 120, and I looked down and got A
K. I made it 9,000 — I raised a little bit more because the French guy [Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier] was the big blind and he was calling anything and everything as chip leader. So, I wanted to make it big to put the pressure on a little bit. I got reraised to 32 by ElkY so I put the rest in, and he had pocket sixes. He hit the 6 straight out on the flop. So, I didn’t even get a sniff. It was a bit devastating, playing all this time, but that’s the game, you’ve got to get over it ... hopefully next time.
RM: Do you play many high roller events?
RR: No, that was my first one and I enjoyed it. It’s a shorter field and you’re playing against really good players. I thrive on that so that’s not a problem for me, I really enjoy playing good players, you can make some moves and get some good reads from a couple of the weaker players. I really enjoyed it so hopefully I will be doing some more.
RM: How did you find the structure?
RR: It was quite good. It was an hour clock, we had 30,000 chips. I found it really good, it wasn’t a fast structure, there was plenty of play in it, and I really enjoyed it.
RM: What did you think of ElkY with all his recent success and everything?
RR: Obviously he’s a good player, you’ve got to respect what he’s done. If somebody pulls off the results he has pulled off, he’s obviously got a good game, which you must respect. He’s running good as well — I’ve been on the table all day and he has hit a lot of hands on the flop, and the 6 with me, he didn’t even give me a sniff, it was the first card out.
RM: What kind of a player would you say he is?
RR: Obviously he is aggressive — he had a lot of chips all day so obviously I don’t know what he’s like with a short stack. He played his chips today probably the same as I would have played them if I had a stack that nice. He is definitely an aggressive player, but I think that’s the way forward anyway.
RM: What did you think of Isabelle Mercier?
RR: She was short-stacked with me for most of the day, she had a bit of a grind, so she really played a tight game. She got kings three times, so the times I saw her in pots she had hands, and I saw her with jacks once — she called a raise and there was a jack on the flop, so she had a set of jacks. I played with her yesterday, she was making a few little moves, you can see she knows how to play. She’s another very good player.
RM: Where to next?
RR: I might go to Copenhagen, I don’t know. I’m a bit tired at the moment. So, when I go home I’ll see how I feel. I’ve got to do a bit of work back home for my family in the restaurant, so I’ll chip in there and see how I feel.
RM: You don’t solely play poker then?
RR: No, we’ve got family businesses back home, we run fish and chips restaurants. We have a few restaurants, we lease two, and the family run two of them, and we invest money into property as well, so there’s a lot to do when I go back home. I won’t give it up, not yet.
RM: Do you think it’s important for players to keep up their former professions or businesses on the side?
RR: Yeah. If you’ve got a good profession and it works, and brings in good money, I would definitely say to keep going, and enjoy poker, have the odd game here and there as I was doing, because I don’t think you can make it pay otherwise, unless you cash a nice big win in a major event, then obviously you can do what you want with a couple of million. But when you’re trying to grind out 100,000, 200,000, it’s still not enough, unless you’re winning a lot online, so it depends. But in live competitions, it’s tough. Obviously, with Full Tilt taking me on in the past seven or eight months, that has helped big time.
RM: Are you playing a lot online now then?
RR: I am playing a lot more online since I’ve signed up with Full Tilt, but my biggest game is live— picking up reads off players — that’s my strongest game, that’s what I’m known for. I obviously enjoy it, and playing live is definitely my number one game.
RM: What about America, will you go to the World Series?
RR: Yeah, I’ve been the last three times, I’ve got a good record in the main event. I’ve made day 2, day 4, and day 5. So, I’ll definitely go there, I enjoy the main event. It’s a good game.
RM: Do you prefer it to the EPT?
RR: I don’t know, everybody likes going to Vegas, it’s a bit of a buzz, something to look forward to. If you’re there for a long time and you’re not winning, it does get a bit tough, like last year I had a really bad run, apart from the main event. I bubbled twice, so when it gets harder and harder and you’re trying harder and harder, it seems all up-hill.
RM: You came quite far in both the main and high roller events in Deauville, but just missed the money...
RR: Yeah it’s the usual story with me — I haven’t really had a break in a major event.
RM: How do you deal with that normally?
RR: It’s tough, I used to get really cut up about it before, I always wanted to win a major event and do something amazing. I believe in my game, and people close to me know that I can play, but I suppose you need that little break. Like today, I felt I played exceptionally well against these players, and I had no problem, I always felt very comfortable and obviously did nothing wrong at all. To keep myself in the game I thought I played really well, and I was absolutely card dead, the only way I was getting chips was making moves on players and taking down pots that I thought were worth taking down. And the one time that I did have that big hand five-handed —AK, I managed to get it all in and ElkY’s sixes crushed me, so there’s nothing else you can do really.
RM: What does your family think of you playing poker?
RR: First of all they were a but dubious, they didn’t like the gambling... but I think that’s normal. As soon as I started, I think it was in 2007, I had a really good run on the UK circuit and I had a couple of final tables, I was winning over £100,000, and I won the side event at EPT Barcelona. Once they saw that I was getting a few results, and realised that I could play the game, I got a lot of support from my brothers, and my mom especially, she was dead against it, but she supports me now. She always wants me to do my best, and wants what’s best for me.
RM: Do they understand the game?
RR: Yeah they do, and my Dad’s addicted to poker now since I’ve been playing . He can’t stop playing.
RM: Is he any good?
RR: He’s alright. He’s nothing special (laughs).
RM: Are you giving him any tips?
RR: Yeah I try to, but he doesn’t listen. It doesn’t work. That’s one thing I’d love to do — bring down a major event — and then I know I’d love to bring my Dad with me more to play some big events, because it wouldn’t matter, I could put him in if I won a lot of money. So, that’s one of my ambitions — to bring him with me — I know he’d enjoy it. It would be really good.
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