Igor Kurganov: 'Poker Is the Ultimate Riddle'
"I always loved all strategy games of any sort, actually, since I was a little kid."
So explained Team PokerStars Pro Igor Kurganov recently when speaking with PokerNews about how he first got into poker.
Listing a longtime love of math, puzzle-solving, and riddles, Kurganov explains how poker is in a way an "ultimate riddle" presenting players with a myriad of unique and unrepeatable situations.
Kurganov has been trying to solve poker riddles in earnest for a while now, having accumulated more than $12.8 million in live tournament earnings including his first World Series of Poker bracelet this summer, earned along with Liv Boeree in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Tag Team Championship.
Speaking further about what it takes to become a good poker player, Kurganov notes how natural ability helps, but it's also important for players to give themselves enough time to study and dedicate themselves to the game.
He also addresses what it takes to build a career in poker, noting how important it is for each individual to figure out his or her own goals and then work on ways to achieve them.
Along the way Kurganov additionally discusses Raising for Effective Giving (REG) and its goals to spread effective altruism and raise money in constructive ways for charities in need. Take a look:
