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Charles Hawk's picture
Spencer "360flip19" Moe Wins WCOOP Event

Two weeks ago, we interviewed heads up pro Spencer "360flip19" Moe. We planned to ask him a few more questions, but this was delayed when he broke an ankle ("Man, I feel cursed with my ankles. It's like every year I injure myself," wrote Spencer). Since then, he has won the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker's $215 HUSNG event (here is a write-up from the PokerStars blog). We took the opportunity to talk to him about the event as well as finish the previous interview.

 

Spencer "360flip19" Moe: It was Event 12 $215 buyin. I had to win 11 matches in a row since I didnt get a bye in round 1. Obviously anytime anyone wins that many games in a row they have been running rather well. But hey, I'll take it. :)

Charles Hawk: How did you feel emotionally when battling the last three opponents? Did you play anything else on the side then?

SM: No, I was only playing one table. I wanted to focus on those matches as they were worth quite a bit. The jump from 3/4 to 2nd was slightly more than double. I didn't want to be bothered with anything else on the side.

I was feeling very calm emotionally. I was just trying to play well and adjust accordingly. By trying to win each game at a time, I never really got ahead of myself by looking at payjumps that might come in two matches or something.

 

Congratulations, Spencer, on your win! Here is the continuation of our interview with him:

CH: How do you handle money? What‘s the most expensive thing that you have bought?

SM: When it comes to spending money I am really conservative. I just don't have the impulse to go over-the-top when it comes to spending. I still buy some fun stuff that I don't need, but nothing crazy. I think the most expensive thing I have bought was my MacBook.

CH: Does losing/winning affect your mental game? Have you ever caught yourself being irrational because of short-run results?

SM: I think to some extent losing or winning will have some effect. The goal is, of course, to keep these emotions to an absolute minimum. It can be frustrating to go on long stretches without producing the results we (poker players) feel we deserve or are entitled to. But the reality is, no one is entitled to anything. Having a solid foundation for understanding expectation is something that keeps me grounded. Some people act as if variance is some kind of monster that is out there and can stike down their results. That just isn't the correct line of thinking. Variance just IS. Having a higher roi or playing a slower structure doesn't mean 'lower variance'. Variance is a product of expectation.

CH: Are you bothered with the idea that poker is just money relocation and not creating any value to humanity? What do you think about Daniel‘s statement after winning One Drop?

SM: This is something that I am sure all poker players have had cross their minds - some more than others perhaps. To me, I don't see anything wrong at all with what Daniel said. He should have the right to expess himself however he sees fit. This doesn't always mesh well when an event will be televised. Any player who enters a tournament without having a sponsor directly pay their buyin should not be obligated to do anyhting they aren't comfortable with. It should be respected. Regarding the principles behind the fact, I feel somewhat conflicted. On one hand, I don't think poker is entirely different than most other industries. The players with the most money are all at the top while the overwhelming majority plays micros. It's a pyramid. I think that anyone who is able to contribute something positive to society in any way can choose to do so. It doesn't need to come solely from their profession. We could all volunteer our time or support good causes, but most of us don't. This is a personal choice and doesn't need to reflect a person's source of income, but rather what kind of a person they are. This applies for everyone in my opinion.

CH: Do you have any ethical views about facing disconnects from your opponents, playing fish when they trashtalk, etc.? Do you think it could be useful if someone (for example, a division leader) would write some sort of ethical codex (just as a guideline of course)?

SM: Again, this is somewhat of a moral complex as well. Some people will regard blinding someone out as stealing. Others view it as part of online poker. While most regs will always show etiquette and wait for each other during a disconnect or send back equity, the same doesn't seem to apply when playing someone unknown. Most people are aware that websites may issue a refund to the player as well as assuming if they were the player disonnected they would be blinded down as well. To wait for everyone would definitely be a negative freeroll. I think the real question is whether blinding someone down is stealing or merely part of online poker.

CH: In which spots were you losing the most money at the beginning? Which hands were most unprofitable for you?

SM: My leaks when I was first starting out were all over the place. I definitely wasn't playing nearly enough hands in either position and folding tons of equity away.

CH: What was your main HUSNGs leak in game theory compared with now?

SM: I would say my main leak was having no understanding of ranges. When I first started I thought about poker in terms of absolute value rather than relative value. I had no grasp of expectation and played no where near enough hands. This was all while I was playing micros and I would like to think I have improved drastically in every area.

CH: Tell me about your travels. Where have you been? Could you tell some funny or memorable stories?:)

SM: A memorable story for me was when I had the opportunity to meet up with my friend pajak666. He is from Poland but we arranged to meet in Berlin. When we met up he took me to some pretty crazy places! I had never experienced the style of nightlife that was there. On route we walked into the wrong place a couple times. Through the doors of one place was bare plywood floors and no one around. There were some rooms with pillows lining the floors and an old matress in the other. One person stepped out of another room wearing a bathrobe with a girl in lingerie and then quickly went back closing the door behind him when he saw us. We were in and out after maybe 10 seconds. Was NOT the place we were looking for :D.

3onthego's picture
I'm impressed.Assuming you

I'm impressed.

Assuming you are better than you are and you're win rate vs your 11 opponents is 60% the chance of winning 11 in a row is 0.3%.

And then factor in the chance of doing it just after being interviewed on HUSNG.

Let's say you have played in 5 WSOOP.

So 0.3/5 = 0.07% (no James Bond puns please).

Now factor in that you were interviewed just 2 weeks before. 52/2=26.

Now consider the annual incidence of ankle fractures in the US:

187/100,000

This translates to 0.187% per annum.

Now divide & multiply.

The result is that the chance of winning the tournament the same year you broke your ankle and within 2 weeks of being interviewed are 0.0005%.

I hope your love life is as, er, primed for action.

PS: I'm not insinuating anything with regards the small fluffy pet.

 

RyPac13's picture
Congrats on the victory.

Congrats on the victory.