Mar 284 min read

🎙️ EMP Mystery Bounty Andrea Iocco: Thrilled to try it live, in Rozvadov for the cash action as well!"

Less than a week to go before the start of the EPM Mystery Bounty, a tournament that will be held in Rozvadov from 3 to 8 April (CLICK HERE to find out all about the event), and many want to pop over to the Czech lands to discover this new and captivating format.

Among these is also Andrea Iocco, whom we met at the last Skill Poker Master and who, from next week, will join us at King's Resort:

"What drives me to stop in Rozvadov for the EPM Mystery Bounty? Curiosity,' confesses Andrea Iocco, 'because it's not exactly the format I prefer, I'm more for tournaments without a bounty. However, a friend invited me, and all in all, it's something new, so why not try it?"

"The initial idea was to go and do some cash-gaming, it's a variant I started to study right after Covid. Throwing myself into a new discipline has boosted my motivation, also because I have always played tournaments and in the long run you need new inputs.

I also think I've improved technically and Rozvadov is a good opportunity to do both some cash and try Mystery Bounty live. Online I've played a few but, truth be told, I'm not very strong and probably won't have much of an edge. Ultimately though it's just any tournament until the bounty is introduced, so I'll try my best until that stage and then we'll see.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)"

Grinder's life

"I'm currently living in Croatia, playing mainly online cash games and tournaments when there are big events on different 'dot com' rooms. I am playing more and more live and, in the next couple of months, there are several events scheduled: from the EPM Mystery Bounty to the ISOP, via the Tana, and of course the Ipo Sanremo.

What do I prefer between online and live? The best results have come live, I've always seen online as a gym. Everyone is probably more predisposed to something and as far as I'm concerned I prefer live, although online I'm improving a lot. I study solvers and constantly compare myself with several of my friends, top regulars who specialize in cash gaming."

The bottom line

How many times have you heard the phrase "poker is an ever-changing game", or something similar? It is certainly not an exercise in rhetoric, because the changes are there and they inevitably affect the entire field, from top regulars to amateurs. Here's what Andrea thinks about it:

"On the one hand, I think the field has improved, especially after Covid. It's as if there has been a skimming, a natural selection let's say. There are only the occasional players left who are holding their own at the table despite their technical deficiencies, but in general, I have seen a nice generational change.

Just the other day, talking to a friend, we noticed that at the Skill Poker Master, there were quite a few players online. Paradoxically, they are not the ones who frighten me most at the table, because a player who goes from online to live without experience does not perform as well as when he is in front of the computer. I would be more afraid of an average live reg because he knows how to stay at the table and gives fewer tells than a live poker novice."

Podcast che passione!

In addition to poker played, Andrea Iocco has also recently dedicated himself to interviewing some of the most well-known personalities on the national poker scene via his YouTube channel:

"I am a big fan of podcasts, I don't know how many I will have devoured... From history to news, from politics to sport, but especially poker. One of the ones I'm inspired by is Joe Ingram, I've seen almost all of his podcasts and it's thanks to him that I got the idea to open a channel on YouTube.

For me it's a passion, I started as a game and I don't do it to appear but rather to give back something that, in my time, I received from others. I intend to make listeners passionate about the game and its characters, that's my goal. That's why, and I would like to emphasize this, I don't buy subscribers like many others do, especially at the beginning.

I like to do things naturally and if one day the following grows I will be very happy, but I don't set myself any expectations. I try to interview interesting profiles and the feedback is good, people like it. Some people recognize me at the table and give me moral support to continue.

In the past I used to stream on Twich and my channel is still active but I preferred not to continue because Twich requires a lot of perseverance, it's like a job. And in a way, the passion factor started to disappear because there you have to hammer to get a good following."

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