Interview with Sebarino: Short Stack to EPT Champion

At Pokercode we have the privilege of seeing our community members rise from the bottom of the poker ladder and gradually progress towards the top of the game. Grindhouse 2 participant Sebastian “Sebarino” Schulze is the epitome of that. Since joining the community back in 2019, he’s gone from battling in midstakes to excelling in high stakes tournaments both online and on the live felt.

This was proven last week at EPT Barcelona as Sebastian took down the €2.7k Second Chance Event for €326,600 and the gold trophy. Going into the final table as the short stack and battling back from just 2 big blinds at one stage, he showed what resilience he has to never give up and just play the hand he’s dealt. We sat down with him earlier this week to get his thoughts on the victory and what it means to him.

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Firstly, congratulations again Seb! How does it feel after the dust has settled and you’ve had time for it all to sink in?

“Hey! First of all, thanks a lot!!

It already has been a week since the bink happened, and I must say right now I don't feel nearly as excited as I was "back then". Whilst writing this I am having the trophy next to me and it reminds me of my greatest success in poker so far. But to be honest, right now I am feeling rather calm and focused to repeat this type of success many more times.”

That’s awesome and great to hear that this just fuels you for more success in the future. Speaking of back then, did you maintain this calmness during the FT or did any feelings of pressure arise?

Generally speaking I was feeling quite tense I think, but also very zoned in, in some way. I took it very seriously playing every hand the best way that I could. I was short stacked the entire FT until 4 left, where my stack went up and up and up. Up to that point I didn't expect much, so there was no real pressure involved as I could have busted every hand.

I honestly didn't expect to win it haha. But my thoughts were on not letting anyone else win it either at all times.

I know exactly what you mean and it’s good to see that you can dial in, in the biggest moments. It’s a tough thing to do, so what specific preparation have you done to get to that point of focus?

“Up to that day I have been working out every morning before going to the casino. I think this was the driving factor for my focus, and it will be in the future. Every morning I did a 15-25 min HIIT workout on youtube in our airbnb to get the blood pumping. This kept me relatively stable throughout the entire day.

Breathwork has also been a big part of it. There were 2-3 moments in the tournament where I felt a lot of frustration after having made a mistake that cost me a lot of chips. But breathwork, and having had my girlfriend by my side has helped me a lot to stay on course, although it definitely wasn't easy.”

Awesome. It looks like you have a lot of good things in place to help you through the toughest moments. You mentioned your girlfriend, it must be nice having that support from her and your friends on the rail?

“For sure. Without her and my friends it would have been a lot tougher, and less enjoyable. I remember when I had to call off my last 2bb in the big blind with 94o vs a SB shove and hit the 4 on the turn vs A3. "9 high like a boss!!" came from Fabi on the rail. Comments like these definitely pumped up my vibe”

Haha brilliant, I can imagine how much of a lift that must have given you. From reading your blog in our community, there’s been plenty of ups and downs this year with live trips. But, what do you enjoy about live poker the most?

“I think it's the whole atmosphere, of sitting with real people at the table, and also having plenty of time to think about the decisions. But mostly I think deep running tournaments in live poker.. because it feels so much different compared to online. All the adrenaline pumping through the veins, everything is so much more exciting.. friends on the rail... cameras... big money.. every decision counts so much more emotionally. I find it tough to eat a lot during these moments, but I also love this part of live poker the most.”

Absolutely, it feels like more of an “experience” for you, I get that. With that in mind, do you see your future being focused on adding more live trips than grinding online?

“A good mix is super important. The problem with live poker is that if you play it "too much", then you don't have enough time to study things deeply. Currently I see online poker, and being at home at my computer, as an important tool to improve my game. And right now I feel like I am nowhere nearly  where I want to be skill-wise.

Therefore, I rather prefer things how they are and focus a bit more on improving, whilst keeping up a good balance between live and online. The next stop will be EPT Cyprus where we will go for another title.”

That’s good to hear regarding your motivation to get better and improve and I hope I'll sit down with you again soon to discuss another title! Thank you for taking the time to sit down with me today and discuss your victory in Barcelona. I appreciate it. Lastly, you’re a big inspiration for our community at Pokercode and I would like to ask, looking back 3/4 years ago, what advice would you give yourself to get to this point today?

That makes me happy to hear.

My answer to this is simple: Confidence!

Don't let the results ever influence what you think about yourself as a player. There is so much randomness and noise involved in looking at short-term results, whether you are losing for some time, or whether you are on a hot streak for some weeks. It doesn't matter. As long as you keep up good habits, surround yourself with good people, and find your pride in all the things you can actually control there is zero reason to worry about your future in poker.

I am writing this because confidence is still something I struggle with up to this day, and I'm sure one or the other reader can identify.

That's some great advice right there and something I will take forward myself. Thank you for sharing today Seb and I look forward to seeing what else you achieve in your Poker career!

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