BBZ student “comes of age” with $24K High Roller victory

Just eighteen months ago, BBZ community member “Trotmant” was–by his own admission–a “shit low stakes reg”.

But a lot has changed for the 37 year old from London since then. For one, he started studying with BBZ. He then joined BBZ’s Coaching for Profit programme and with that came rapid improvements in his play, which only continued as he climbed up through the online tournament stakes.

Then, on June 4 2021, he “came of age” when he took down a $525 Bounty Hunters High Roller on GGPoker for a career-best $24,045 score ($9,209 plus $14,835 in bounties).

We sat down for a chat with Trotmant to learn more about his early struggles in poker, how he overcame them, and how you could do the same.

BBZ Blog: Hey Trotmant, a huge congratulations on the score. What does it mean to you?

Trotmant: Thanks! For me, it’s the pure validation that I was capable of beating such a talented field at such a high stake. I feel I’m more level headed these days and in some ways, I know this is just the start of my high stakes career. I’m completely aware there are more talented people in the field than myself and I’ve still got so much more to learn, but getting this win definitely gives me the confidence and desire to keep working really hard on my game and turn up day in day out to battle with all the sickos.

You posted in the BBZ Brags section of the BBZ Discord: “1.5 years ago I joined BBZ a shit low stakes reg. Today we came of age.” What was your poker experience like prior to joining BBZ?

I first discovered poker at a friend’s birthday party, but initially, I didn’t like it as we were playing pot limit. It wasn’t until a couple of years later–when some of my Starcraft friends started playing online poker–that I found No Limit Hold’em. This was in 2008 and I was hooked.

I began mostly with $25NL cash tables and $1 single table sit & go’s. I quickly moved up to $50NL cash games but it was really different back then. It was pre ‘Black Friday’ and we had awesome rakeback, no solvers and pretty much the whole world played on either Pokerstars or Full Tilt. You didn’t have to be very good to win.

You became a Supernova on PokerStars, right?

Yeah, I remember being so pleased the first year I made Supernova. It wasn’t until after ‘Black Friday’ and the removal of the Supernova programme that I transitioned away from regular cash games, I experimented with a lot of alternative formats before I finally gave MTTs a try and one of the things that really kept me interested was the fact the game had an end

In 2017, I made the decision to go full time with MTTs and found a lot of success early on, which in hindsight wasn’t great. I remember in my first 12 months playing just a $20 average buy-in I made $40,000 profit and of course I thought I could beat the world. So it wasn’t long before I was regularly shot-taking in $500 MTTs or $100 SNGs, which very quickly resulted in me losing most of the bankroll I had built up. The competition was just so much better than I was.

At what point did you realise you needed help with your tournament poker game?

After trying to learn MTTs myself, I actually did what so many people do these days and bought a very expensive and well known Tournament Masterclass, which I have to say was excellent and to be fair, at the time worth its money.

But in 2019, with the prominence of solvers and ‘GTO’ solutions, it became very clear to me that if I wanted to genuinely beat a high stakes poker game, I needed more help. I could no longer blindly study a bunch of videos and charts. I realised I didn’t really understand the mechanics of poker (i.e. why we should play certain strategies). It’s shocking to think I used to c-bet every flop 33% of the pot and that was it. I blindly did it, without even considering alternative options.

What led you to BBZ?

It was actually when Jordan started streaming on Twitch. It was clear to me the way Jordan thought about poker was unlike anything I had been exposed to before. So I immediately applied for the new BBZ Coaching For Profit programme and was over the moon to be accepted.

How has BBZ helped you improve?

I mean, it’s obvious to say, but all my technical skills have improved. Not all elite players are great communicators and coaches, but in my opinion, one of the unique ingredients at BBZ is that all of the coaches are amazing communicators to all types of audiences. So no matter your learning style or where you are in your poker journey, they will break it down for you and will help transform your game.

TROTMANT CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

34,000 MTTs played lifetime – $93,469 ($107,507 exc. High Stakes)
1st in the $525 Bounty Hunters HR – $24,045 (2021)
2nd in the $109 Sunday Cooldown – $16,725 (2021)
1st in the Bounty Builder $109 – $14,473 (2019)

What do you wish someone would have told you when you were struggling at the low stakes?

That’s a hard one. I think the biggest challenge is that we develop a false fallacy. We think that because we’re winning money at low stakes against people playing for fun that we’re actually good at poker and it’s all just variance each time we take a shot.

The watershed moment for me was when Jordan and I first met and he reviewed my PokerTracker 4 database. This really shone a spotlight on where I needed to focus my study. I think that’s really important for anyone trying to move up and take poker more seriously: find a great coach and get your playing database reviewed. It will speed up your development no end.

Was there a particular spot you remember in the tournament where your BBZ coaching kicked in?

Well, it’s funny – I actually had one of my regular one-to-ones with Jargo (Alaväli, a.k.a “bungakat”) earlier that day, and we had been going over one of my previous final tables. I just remember some of my friends messaging me after I won, asking me if I was nervous about such a big final table. And the honest answer was no. I think what was the big difference, all those hours of coaching meant that when I was faced with this very high-pressure situation, I was confident I knew the answers. I was more excited to perform than nervous, to be honest, and I think this is important. If you’re nervous or unsure how to approach a final table, it probably means you’ve not done enough work on your ICM game.

What would you say to anyone considering studying with BBZ?

Firstly, BBZ has an amazing culture. There’s a family feeling where, regardless of your ability, you’re part of the team and everyone is there to help and support you. Plus you get to rub shoulders and talk with some very smart people.

That being said, getting better at poker is a process. You’re going to make mistakes as you try to learn new strategies and often you might get a little worse before you get better. So it’s really important to realise it’s a journey and it’s not a quick one.

BBZ will provide you with all the support and tools you need to succeed, but at the end of the day, you still need to do the hard work yourself. This doesn’t account for variance, being patient and understanding that it can be normal to lose for a long time in tournaments. Many people give up far too soon or aren’t prepared to do the hard work that is required.

Are you ready to put in the work, improve as a player and climb the stakes? Then BBZ has a product for you.

Join the BBZ Discord today. You won’t find a more supportive poker community anywhere else.