Andrew Cooper - Top-Class Poker Grinder Interview
8 years ago07 Sep
The world of poker is replete with stories about, interviews with and discussions of the elite pros. If Phil Ivey so much as looks at a pack of cards in any casino in the world, then a camera is instantly thrust in his face; Viktor âIsildur1â Blom booms and busts his way across the âpoker webâ and there are a thousand column inches covering every detail of his online exploits.
Poker Unknowns
But what of the âunknown soldiersâ of the poker world? The guys who ply their trade on the green felt day-in, day out, spending vast chunks of their lives in a virtual world of multi-tabling, rake-back and MTTâs? What do they do away from their screens? Do they even exist??
Youâd be hard-pushed to find a decent interview with one of them anywhere, let alone an insight into what makes them tick and what they do when the money rolls in or pours out. Well that has been fixed, in part, with the real-life revelations of online poker grinder âthe legendary Andrew âCoopahâ Cooper.
The Mystery Man
Cooperâs interview at PokerVIP.comhas brought to life a man whom readers of 2+2 might know about, but who is a mystery to the rest of the gameâs fans. So why is the Londoner worthy of the attention which millions of other online regs arenât?
That part is easy: Cooper is consistently one of the highest earners of rake-back in the game, topping the PokerVIP âtop 200/350âmany times and reaching SuperNova Elite on PokerStars. Playing literally millions of hands a year across numerous sites requires a discipline and drive which few possess, and matching this with an âincredibly high and consistent win rateâ (which has netted him a profit of over $1,000,000) is virtually unheard of in the poker world.
Money, money, money
How does Cooper achieve this? As he readily admits, he is motivated by âmoneyâ and adds that he âjust f-ing loves the game!â Easy enough to play a game where the drivers are so simple, but what of the other people in his life?
When he started grinding it out full-time back in 2007 his friends apparently
"loved it - the rock n roll lifestyle etc, but my family were super skeptical. Once I showed them the profit and gave them money they understood and realized what it was. Basically when I started making more money than my dad, he respected it.â
As everyone in the game knows, however, it can be easy come â easy go when it comes to poker finances. So what has been the biggest expense Cooper has indulged in? âA $300,000 flat,â he says, adding that his dumbest splash-out was on âfake tits for my ex-girlfriend and an engagement ringâ, also noting that the BMW car he bought âwasnât that sensible for something I donât use.â
For someone whose everyday rake-back and winnings are topped-off with the ârake-back raceâ prizes he constantly has his eyes on (â$2500+â monthly earnings on the top 350 race alone) Cooper certainly makes âgrindingâ seem like a profitable proposition, despite losing $25K on one hand alone playing 50/100 NL.
The highs and lows of grinding
The happiness factor in Cooperâs life is not all money-related, although ânot paying taxesâ does feature! He has recently invested some of his winnings on a treadmill which he plans to use âto get fit whilst grinding,â admitting that he is âfed up of being the heaviest I have beenâŚI have a girlfriend I need to keep happy!â
The âfree time and being able to manage yourselfâ coupled with it being âalways nice to do what you enjoyâ, make his life as a poker professional enjoyable, although he does admit to the painful âdownswings and loneliness of the game - having to deal with all the bad parts of it yourselfâ, something which anyone who has tried multi-tabling for more than a few months can attest to.
Impossible is Nothing
Setting himself seemingly impossible targets has been a mainstay of Cooperâs online presence. His 2013 thread on the 2+2 forum to âtrack progress reaching SuperNova Elite and $500K profitâ was an instant hit with followers who marvelled at his stats and ability.
Without using HUDâs or poker trackers of any sort a few years back, and admitting to a 100:0 play-to-study ratio, Cooperâs regularly-shared insights into his game, and hand history explanations, helped to dispel the myth that his play was actually the work of bots.
Playing across a range of tables (NL 6-max, SNGâs, zoom) and buy-ins ($600-1k NLHE, 2/500 zoom etc) he hit the SNE target easily enough, but the $500k perhaps wasnât the most realistic goal when he changed to PokerStars in the early part of the year, coming unstuck several times when battling away from his regs.
The Future is Cooper
Now happily away from the forums and twittersphere phase of a couple of years ago, Andy âcoopah88â Cooper has set his sights on some new goals, the most immediate of which is to finish both 1st AND 2nd in this monthâs PokerVIP âtop 350â!
Needing to pull in an astonishing rake of about $15,000 on both the Paddy Powerand Stan James sites over the course of the promotion, itâs a tall order for the Londoner who chooses PokerVIP for âthe best service, highest rakeback deals and the top 350 of courseâ, and is doing it for âthe money and challengeâ.
And any advice for those of us out there trying to emulate his âultimate grindingâ?
âAlways question why things happen and work it out. There is a reason for everything so make sure what you are doing makes sense!â states Cooper, before adding, âAvoid the casino games!â
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