Two-Time Player of the Series Marcin “Goral” Horecki Talks PokerStars MicroMillions V
From July 18-28, PokerStars will host the fifth installment of the MicroMillions, a 100-event online tournament series that give micro-stakes players the opportunity to win a share of $5 million in guaranteed prize pools. The MicroMillions V will feature a variety of buy-ins from 11 cents to $22 as well as a vast array of formats like turbos, rebuys, shootouts and Zoom Poker tournaments.
Interestingly, Team PokerStars Pro Marcin “Goral” Horecki of Poland has won the MicroMillions Player of the Series two out of four times, which means he topped the series’ leader board to win a PokerStars Caribbean Adventure package and champion’s trophy. Horecki did so by playing in 89 of 100 events for 34 cashes (none higher than 58th place) the first go round, and then cashed the same amount of times in his second win, which was in the MicroMillions III.
For those who don’t know Horecki, he is a former member of the National alpine skiing team in Poland that worked in corporate financial business before finding poker. Like his fellow Team PokerStars Pro David Williams, Horecki is also fond of Magic: The Gathering. In addition to winning the MicroMillions Player of the Series two times, Horecki’s poker accomplishments include victories in the PokerStars FCOOP €276 No Limit Hold’em in November 2012 for €72,898; an EPT Sanremo €300 No Limit Hold’em Turbo in October 2011 for $20,915; and in the Austrian Masters €500 No Limit Hold’em in June 2007 for $28,637.
PokerNews recently spoke with Horecki, who revealed that while he’ll be playing the MicroMillions V, he won’t be seeking his third Player of the Series title.
PokerNews: As a two-time Player of the Series, will you be looking to make it three times in the MicroMillions V?
Horecki: I think I’m not going to. I have some other plans. I will be traveling to Bulgaria for the Eureka Poker Tour this time.
Will you still be playing the MicroMillions V on some level even if you don’t go for Player of the Series?
Yes, definitely. There are some events that I like such as the Main Event and some Omaha Hi-Low events. There’s also 2-7 Draw, I love such events and will add them to my session.
Since you’re not going for Player of the Series, do you have any advice for anyone who might give it a go?
Yes of course. There is a lot to it. You have to prepare for it and manage some sleep, which is not easy. I actually late registered all the no-limit events just to get some more sleep in the meantime. You of course need to know all the other games. I think I played 86 or 87 events out of 100, so you should play as much as possible but you should skip some nightly events that may take a long time.
Also, of course, you have to watch for the points, because the points are important in going for the Player of the Series. Sometimes on the bubble you want to wait a little bit, not push as many hands to get some points. You want to get as many points as possible.
Can you give us an idea what your daily schedule was like when you went for Player of the Series?
In the night there are less events. If I remember I was finishing the evening events around 2 a.m. and sometimes if I went out earlier I would go to sleep, but if not I would set my clock to wake up five minute before 8:00 a.m. and five minute before 11:00 in the morning. I was late registering those events and if I doubled up I kept playing, if not I was going back to bed and getting some rest.
Can you explain the story behind your screen name “Goral”?
I’m not sure if it means anything in English or other languages, but in Polish it’s basically a name for a person living in the mountains. I come from Zakopane (a small town in southern Poland that lies at the foot of the Tatra Mountains), so when I went to high school people who heard I came from Zakopane called me “Goral”.
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