Max Pescatori poker story

Real name: Massimiliano Pescatori.
I was born in Milan, Italy. I moved to Las Vegas in 1994. It was a
weird thing to do since I studied English but I never really spoke
it. Some of my friends thought I was crazy and my family thought I
lost my mind. In either case, no one though I was doing the right
thing. I did not know anyone in America except for a very far away
uncle.
One of the first nights I was here I saw a Poker Room at the Luxor
and I started playing. I loved it.
After a brief period at the stud tables, a floorman at the Rio told
me that if I want to make real money I had to play Texas Hold'em. I
looked at the other table and saw a sea of chips in the middle.
That was the game to play.
A Few months later, I met the only Italian to ever win a WSOP
bracelet:
Valter Farina (Walter) from Genova.
He was the one that first gave me some advice and told me he was a
professional poker player for over 15 years.
I thought pros were only in the movies.
Of course, it did not even cross my mind I could do that. I loved
playing cards since I was a kid and even in my teenage years. I
would pass on going to the beach or to dance if I could play any
card game with friends. Las Vegas was (and still is) the bomb. I
can play at any hour, any day of the week. I kept playing and my
game kept getting better; my winning sessions were more and more
frequent. Around 1996, after another profitable session, and
struggling bringing the several one dollar racks to the cashier, a
player said "You should be a professional."
Was he right?
I began to take poker more seriously. Valter Farina became a friend
and his advice and encouragement made a big impact in my poker
career.
In 1999, I officially turned pro. My game was Hold'em and 8-16 to
15-30 were the limits of my choice. Winning was easy. I played many
hours and my experience and will to succeed was paying off. I never
really interacted with many players; however, one of the regulars
at the game was Evelyn Ng. She was a pro from Canada. Another
regular was Alan "Full Value" Young. The three of us became friends
and exchange poker information.
This was great because I could finally have different point of
views about Texas Hold'em and my style of play. One of the things
that was not helpful, was the fact both Evy and Alan told me that
all pros have bad streaks. Nice friends. Six months later I
realized that was happening to me. I did not let that discourage me.
During that time, Internet poker sites began to appear. Playing on
the computer is different than playing live for several reasons:
you cannot pick up any tells, you have no idea if a player is drunk
or upset, the number of hands played are triple; therefore, when
bad beats arrive, it is much easier to go on tilt.
I played during 2000/1 mainly at UltimateBet. I was a cash game
player but during a promotion, I won a trip to the new WPT at Aruba.
Right before the trip I met a young Italian, Marco Traniello and,
thanks to him, I met his wife Jennifer Harman. Jackpot! Aruba was
perfect, even if I did not win, I played with several great players
including Scotty Nguyen, Howard Lederer, David "Devilfish" Ulliott
and Annie Duke and became friends with Marco and Jennifer.
It was a new chapter in my career. Jennifer Harman was the key. She
liked talking to me and she invited me to watch her in action at
the Bellagio. One problem: she was playing 1,500-3,000. That limit
made me very nervous, but Jenny was truly great. I have never
before seen a player of such caliber at work. On top of all that,
she would show me her cards before every hand. I was barely playing
30-60. It took a few times watching her to make my game and my
confidence skyrocket. After a few months, I remember she told me
that if I want to learn even more, I should do two things: play
tournaments and move up in limits.
It was time to make a big move to the dangerous 80-160 limit
Hold'em. How could I fail? I had several years of experience and
Jennifer was my current teacher. I was going to win. And I did.
Omaha High/Low, Stud High/Low, Triple Draw, I started play every
game.
At the beginning of 2003 I made my first move into the tournament
scene. Reno World Poker Challenge was the festival, and I was there
to play and learn. The first event Limit Hold'em started well and
by the final day I made the final table, and I was chip leader. I
did not sleep much, but the second day determined more than ever, I
never looked back and won the title. I called Jennifer right away
and she congratulated me for my first tournament win. One thing she
did not expect. Two days later I called her again: a second win in
the Omaha hi/lo. Anyone can win one tournament, but two in 3 days
convinced me that something special was going on. Also, the fields
were big: 226 and 148 players.
That was the moment I understood I was in the poker world to stay
and to make a serious impact. It was not a lucky run.
Cash games have always been where the money really is. Many
tournament players, even after a long career, do not have the
security that cash pros have. When you play live action, and you
are good, your winning rate is around 70%. Tournament players that
win 2% of the tournament entered are great. It is a big risk and a
big change. Thanks to Internet, WPT, ESPN, etc., however,
tournaments are now much more appealing. In 2004 I decided to play
more of them. During the World Series I made two money finishes
(very disappointing). I also played the main event for the first
time and got knocked out very early with a true bad beat (even more
disappointing). The field in the main event was so big that changed
my mind about No Limit Hold'em. I never really played the "Cadillac
of Poker" (Mike Sexton), but this enormous field was testimonial
that poker players all around love No Limit. As a Pro, I had to
start playing more NL and after few tries I was very happy to win a
Legends o f Poker event at the Bicycle in los Angeles, with over 550
entries.
Another chance to improve my skills came with the new Las Vegas TV
series Ultimate Poker Challenge. During this 3 month long festival
I made 8 final table and TV appearances, more then any other player.
In October I made my first WPT in the money finish at 28th at the
Bellagio. Few weeks later I was invited to play the Monte Carlo
Millions by Tournament Director Matt Savage. This tournament will
air sometimes in 2005 in a major network.
Overall 2004 was a positive year with 24 money finishes, 16 final
tables and one win.

2005 will surely be better and I will focus completely on the
tournament scene.

It's on like Donkey Kong