EPT12 Prague: So you want to be a Super High Roller?

If you were reading the updates of the Super High Roller (which you can find here), thinking to yourself “what does it take to be a Super High Roller?” allow us to point you in the right direction.

First the mandatory stuff.

You’ll need to be sublimely talented. It helps to be born so equipped; otherwise you can set about acquiring the requisite skills the old fashioned way. With a lot of hard work, total dedication at the expense of everything else in your life, and blinkered determination, you might have a slight chance of reaching that level in about ten years.

Sorry, “and face mask,” we forgot to mention the face maskWhile you’re working on that, try to develop an almost reckless contempt for the value of money. How important is this? Well, ask Leonid Markin, last year’s winner, and the first to depart today. Actually “depart” is the wrong word. He put down another fifty grand and pretended nothing bad had happened. Mike Watson did the same.

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Without those two things you’re going to have trouble getting high, let alone super high. So go away and work on that bit first. Then read on. I’ll wait.

All done?

That’s terrific. You should take great pride in the fact that you read all of the above, disappeared for ten years having taken our advice, to dedicate your life to conquering the game. Or if you’re anything like me you’ll simply skipped that bit to get to the other stuff, you’re also welcome.

There are other attributes. If you were to reverse engineer players from events like today they would reveal a lot.

The average Super High Roller is about 25 to 32 years old, wears a hoodie or a scarf, training shoes, carries a backpack, owns a big phone and has facial hair. He (it’s invariably a he) has a favourite American sports team, an address in Mexico or a German accent. They’re blessed with the patience to love a game that makes them look bored, and something like 15,000 Twitter followers to distract them when they really are.

Bored? No. Thomas MuehloeckerThey floss, they call their mothers each week, they love animals. They’re also rich, tournament earnings wise, and they’re on first name terms with the opposition. They have good skin. Life seems good. There’s a lot to like about being a Super High Roller.

Lastly, they know how not let on how badly it might hurt. This ties in with the disregard for money. It’s a game, even when everything is at stake. To show any sign of being bothered by defeat and you break that unwritten rule. That immediately excludes you from Super High Roller Status.

Jason Mercier, the textbook Super High RollerGot all that? Think you want to give it a try? Well, your first step might be to open a PokerStars account and start on that decade long training session. Or, if you prefer to play from your armchair, click here and then press F5 and get a closer look at all of the above.

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Stephen Bartley is a staff writer for the PokerStars Blog.