“I Want to Play the Highest Stakes Possible”: Shylko’s Mission

If Monte-Carlo is the place goals are made, they’re the goals of aspiring poker gamers the world over.

A well-known face to many, Aliaksandr Shylko is in motion right here at PokerStars European Poker Tour Monte Carlo, taking part in within the €100,000 Tremendous Excessive Curler.

Whereas many acknowledge him from his victory on the 2023 PokerStars Gamers Championship (PSPC), it is his more moderen foray into increased buy-in occasions that maybe alerts the subsequent chapter of his profession.

The EPT Monte Carlo €100,000 Tremendous Excessive Curler marks his second-ever six-figure buy-in match, and says that the expertise of taking part in in his first was a particular one.

“At first, I believed it will be very emotional for me,” he advised PokerNews about taking part in in his first £$100,000 match. “And it was. However after taking part in some 25Ks, then increasingly 25Ks, you begin to get used to it.”

Ultimately, he says, the greenback quantity fades.

“Whether or not it is $25K or $100K, it is the identical gamers. And whenever you perceive that these prime gamers are additionally human, it turns into simpler to consider in your self. Everybody could make errors.”

“You by no means understand how your profession will go”

Simply over 5 years in the past, Shylko was taking part in sub-$1,000 buy-in tournaments throughout jap Europe. Now he is rubbing shoulders on the tables with among the greatest gamers within the phrase. Earlier than breaking via along with his PSPC title, Shylko says he by no means assumed he’d discover himself often taking part in six-figure tournaments.

“You by no means understand how your profession will go,” he says. “However for positive, I am an formidable man. I’ve all the time aimed increased. I am investing a lot time within the sport, and I need to play the very best stakes attainable.”

However getting into the elite $100K fields is not nearly having the bankroll. It is about making ready for battle towards the perfect minds within the sport.

“It is not solely in regards to the talent,” Shylko says truthfully. “If it was solely about talent, I would not play these tournaments, as a result of a few of these guys are too good.”

What separates Shylko’s mindset is his deal with the intangibles: self-discipline, presence, and perception.

“In any explicit match, in case you’re extra targeted, extra within the zone, in case you go deep into each hand, then you’ve got a possibility to win,” he explains. “Even when your opponents are extra expert in some areas.”

For Shylko, competing on the highest degree is not nearly trophies or cash. It is about progress, and Shylko is fast to acknowledge that he is early in his high-roller journey.

“You must be in there to play towards the perfect and be taught from the perfect,” he says. “Quite a lot of my buddies play 100k tournaments, and I am actually grateful to share data and experiences with them. That is helped me develop.

“I want extra time to show, to start with to myself, that I actually belong right here.”

Based mostly in the UK, Will began working for PokerNews as a contract stay reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time workers in 2019. He now works as Managing Editor.

He graduated from the College of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He additionally holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports activities Journalism.