Don’t miss this amazing interview with our Hand Judge and player – “areanu”!

bitB Spins: Hello, beast! It is a pleasure for us to have you here among us. So far you have managed very well to hide all your talent and kindness behind the “areanu” nickname. But people are talking and you are one of the most active members on our Discord server. we are eager to find more about who is hiding behind the screen name? Who is hiding behind the “hand judge” role and what achievement did you had until now during those years as a $100 Spin & Go player? How did you start your career and what made you choose bitB Spins team?

areanu: Hello, It’s my pleasure to meet you and to be given this chance. In all honesty, at first, I was even tempted to decline the opportunity — I felt undeserving. But first things first 🙂

My Spin & Go journey has started in late 2017; before that, I was an NL & PL cash game player, but in either format, I have not moved past the 0.25/0.5 stake. Back then, I was a “rakeback grinder”, a thing which was very detrimental to my progress. With the Spin & Go format, I changed my approach entirely: I focused on quality instead of quantity, and from then till now I’ve been only playing 2-3 tables at a time. The change in approach did wonders for me though: I joined a school and very quickly went from $5s on Party Poker to $60s on PS. I also met a lot of great people (special appreciation and love to Stefan, Pierre, Diginius, Wolle83, Alchemikpl, and many others), and later followed them into bitB Spins, which I’m still very happy about.

However, to be perfectly honest and to address my earlier words about “unworthiness”, after my first skyrocketing year to the mid-stakes, I’ve never quite pushed myself to even further goals. You asked about $100s, and the truth is that despite great results on $100’s, most of my volume comes from the $50s. With some embarrassment, I must admit that the second-biggest stake is $25. As a bit of a silly brag, just this January I have had a +$13,500 EV month playing mainly $25 Spin & Go’s. It still makes me laugh to think that it probably was one of the highest monthly EV results on $25s on PS.com of all players.

However, I don’t feel like I’m “stuck” on $50s — I do have both the permission and the skill to play $100s. It’s mostly that right now (and, quite frankly, for quite some time by now) I decide to channel my energy elsewhere — mental work outside of poker with both Mabo and a psychologist, building a healthy relationship, learning (and implementing) things for overall happier life.

In a way, that makes me a poker fish; there are certainly guys who study harder, grind more, and generally “want it more” than I do, but it’s a trade-off that I continue to take, and I’m fine with that responsibility.

bitB Spins: We all saw that you are always available to help players and together with our coach Diginius you are watching our players’ back. How did this desire show up and how do you cope with this responsibility?

areanu: I joined bitB Spins team willing to be a little bit more than just a player; I have experimented a bit with giving a few sessions on the areas of poker that I excel at, but the role that stuck is the “hand judge”. I feel like I’m good with words, both reading and writing, and I also enjoy sharing the knowledge and being helpful, so it suits me perfectly.

Furthermore, a big part of any job is some sense of “goodness” that we contribute as human beings, and poker is a very ungrateful job in that regard — pros work hard to outplay the hobby players, but it would be a bit much to expect any appreciation from their side 🙂

And so this role covers that need for me, I feel like I’m being appreciated and that I help others walk a similar road and contribute to their progress. It’s a wonderful feeling.

bitB Spins: bitB Spins is a project which is bringing with it a deep breath of fresh air for those who are or aim to become professional poker players. How do you see the future of this project knowing already that BitB has an amazing poker background and that many players who crossed their threshold are now some big names in poker?

areanu: I have a two-part answer. The first part is that I am very pleased with bitB Spins project, and to the right person I’d recommend it wholeheartedly and without any internal hesitation. However, I really dislike shilling, and I value honesty, so I’ll clarify my words about the “right person”.

What became clear to me over a few years is that for newcomers the attitude is far more important than the past accomplishments or Y cEV at X stake. There are guys who start relatively low, but it’s obvious from day 1 that they’ll fly high. They have an inquisitive mind, they do their part analyzing, remembering, showing up, volunteering, studying, asking questions, arguing, listening, helping others, etc. Those guys have an amazing journey ahead of them.

bitB Spins has quite a lot of players like that, and honestly, that’s one of the joyous parts of the community (and also what makes my role as a Hand Judge so fun).

bitB Spins: What hobbies does “areanu” have in his real life? Please tell us a few things about yourself.

areanu: About one year and a half ago, I picked up swimming and it’s been a blast! I’m training with a coach 2-4 times per week, and am currently focusing on butterfly which is an awesome, but also a bit torturous style. 🙂 I also occasionally ride a bicycle and I recently picked up casual table tennis, so I generally try to be physically active and work on being in good shape.

The other big hobby of mine is playing board games. Even as I’m writing this right now, I glanced at a couch nearby where there are 4 different board games that are patiently waiting for their turn. 🙂 I’m also big into scienc-y youtube channels, anything from engineering to quantum psychics to space. IT brings me joy to learn new things about the world and stay up to date with modern science.

If I may, I’d love to recommend two books: “Why We Sleep” by Matthew Walker and “Lifespan: Why We Age – and Why We Don’t Have To” by David Sinclair.

bitB Spins: Thank you for your answers, coach. Also, do you have any final thoughts that will bring hope and motivation to our players? I am sure that your words will motivate a lot of players who don’t have the courage to hit the “Apply Now” button and start their journey as poker pros.

areanu: For me, joining a Spin&Go school has been an amazing experience that allowed me to reach more progress in the next 10 months than I’ve reached in the 5 years before.

However, it is not a magic pill. It will take commitment, time, and dedication, but it also requires curiosity, enthusiasm, openness. Personally, I am a firm believer that a supportive community makes this road much easier, but it starts with a person. If someone is serious to give poker a proper shot, I do honestly think that joining a Spin&Go school can far increase their chances.

bitB Spins: Thank you for this interview, beast, and keep up the good work like always! We all need you! 🙂

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