Player Interview
During the EPT Main Event in Monte Carlo, Magnus spoke to
PokerStarsBlog. The outstanding chess player talked about his 🍐 ambitions in poker, how
much this hobby has in common with chess, and which of the strongest chess players
could 🍐 succeed in gambling.
Magnus Carlsen cashed for the first time in such a
prestigious tournament at EPT Monte Carlo.
– "Have you 🍐 ever cashed in the EPT before?"
The neighbors at the bubble TV table asked Magnus.
“That would be problematic, given
that 🍐 I've never played them before,” Carlsen replied.
He played in the tournament for
three days and was eliminated in 63rd place, 🍐 for which he received €15,000. By poker
standards, the prize is quite modest, but Magnus managed to play at the 🍐 TV table and
noticeably increased interest in the tournament.
Magnus told PokerStars journalists
that he had already attended this tournament, however, 🍐 only as a spectator.
“I was in
this hall in 2007,” Magnus recalls. – I was 18 years old, and I 🍐 came to Monte Carlo for
a chess tournament. I knew that there was a major poker series nearby and that
🍐 Alexander Grischuk, who was in the top ten at the time and is now one of the best chess
players 🍐 in the world, was participating in the EPT Main Event. I went to go see.
This
was Magnus' first exposure to 🍐 poker. A couple of years later, in an interview, he
admitted that he sometimes plays online.
After that, there was no 🍐 news about his poker
achievements for several years, but in recent years Magnus' love for the game has
clearly received 🍐 a second wind. In 2024, he signed a contract with Unibet, he regularly
plays in the Norwegian Poker Championship, and 🍐 last year he came to Las Vegas for the
WSOP Main Event. Most recently, he was featured on the most 🍐 popular poker show of
recent years – the Hustler casino stream.
– What VPIP will you have today? Alexandra
Botez asked 🍐 him before the session.
– I don’t even know, it’s definitely less than
80.
– Well, at least more than 60?
– Not 🍐 likely either. I really need money to pay for
my expensive bad habits like alcohol. Therefore, I will play seriously.
– 🍐 Then another
question – during the game will you make more or less than three shots?
– And it
already depends 🍐 on how I play.
As a result, Carlsen turned out to be one of the
tightest, which allowed him to play 🍐 a small plus (they playedR$10/$25 with
straddle).
Despite his obvious interest in the game, Magnus admits that he does not set
🍐 big poker goals for himself.
– In poker, I have no ambitions; I enjoy it, it's
interesting, but nothing more. I'm 🍐 not working on the game in any way, although I
should. But I like to discuss hands with familiar players.
As 🍐 is often the case with
celebrities, their game is immediately critiqued by experts.
Magnus understands that
some of his actions deserve 🍐 criticism and is not afraid of this.
“I don’t think too
highly of my game myself. I try to learn something 🍐 useful from every session. It is
clear that sometimes I can do something outright stupid, this is expected. And it 🍐 is
quite logical that they will pay attention to this.
There are a lot of players in poker
who have played 🍐 chess at a high level in the past. When asked which of the current
strongest chess players could achieve good 🍐 results, Magnus said the new world
champion.
“I think Ding Liren could be a very strong player. I am familiar with 🍐 him, he
is very strong in mathematics, and incredibly and quickly calculates the moves on the
chessboard. I think it 🍐 would be useful for him to be in poker too.
The main difference
between chess and poker is dispersion. In poker, 🍐 situations constantly arise in which
the player cannot influence the outcome in any way. But Magnus is sure that poker 🍐 and
chess have much more in common than is commonly thought.
– Of course, chess is a game
with complete information, 🍐 but still, you often have to make a decision, realizing that
your calculations simply cannot be perfect. And in this, 🍐 these two games are very
similar.
Carlsen's ability to guess was vividly demonstrated in one of the hands he
played on 🍐 Hustler's stream. On the board of , he called three barrels with and turned
out to be right.
Is @MagnusCarlsen actually 🍐 a poker pro?
What an insane hero call vs
@nickkaustin!! pic.twitter/2DD6pq1BuT — Hustler Casino Live (@HCLPokerShow) April 13,
2024
Both during the 🍐 game and after it, Carlsen analyzed this hand like an experienced
professional, suggesting that there were not many value hands 🍐 on such a dynamic board
that his opponent could bet with on all three streets.
“Yes, there were not so many
🍐 obvious bluffs,” Carlsen recalls. “On the other hand, he is the kind of player who with
many one-pair hands will 🍐 try to get to showdown with checks. So I figured there was a
decent chance he was bluffing. We weak 🍐 players often play by our gut. And sometimes it
fails.
For many, Magnus is the greatest chess player in history; some 🍐 might even list
him as one of the best athletes of all time. Does he have any sports idols himself?
–
🍐 Great question. In general, I admire the actions of people, not themselves. But, if you
need to name someone specifically, 🍐 then I will choose Rafa Nadal. He has a unique style
that fascinates me. He is incredibly stubborn, sometimes it 🍐 seems that it is impossible
to break him at all.
For many, online poker has become an outlet during the Covid
🍐 epidemic, when people were forced to stay at home all day. It was during the lockdown
that Magnus began to 🍐 play a lot online. But the world champion in rapid chess will
never get used to one feature of poker 🍐 – the need to make decisions instantly.
"Shot
clocks and time banks cause me a lot of stress. Chess is much 🍐 easier for me because I
know what to do and I make many decisions on autopilot. When I play blitz 🍐 or rapid
chess online, I like to listen to music. It helps me relax and my instincts work
better. But 🍐 poker is different. Here I have much less knowledge, so I have to strain
more. The extra noise will only 🍐 distract me. I just sit and carefully follow what is
happening so as not to miss anything important."
