Interview with Luca Moschitta, Italian Poker Pro.

How did you start playing poker?

About 10 years ago I watched a WSOP final table on TV. That was when I discovered Poker for the 1st time and I thought it was a really cool game. I loved the fact that the poker tournaments were organized around the world, giving the possibility to travel, meeting new people, and it was a chance to win a lot of money! So I decided to start to play “play-money” and after some time I made a small deposit and I started to play lower stakes heads up sit and go tournaments.

When did you decide to go pro and at what age?

I was not running badly at all in the start. After 3 months I started to play with real money I could buy a motorcycle with the profits I made playing heads up sit and goes. Before that I had to take the bus everyday to go to the school which was taking around 1 hour. With the motorcycle I could go to the school in 15 minutes, saving about 45 minutes per day for 2 years! After about 6 months playing poker, I was earning more money than my mum and my dad together (they are teachers). That was probably the moment when I started to consider poker as my job, but I was studying at the same time and finishing the school was my main goal. After I finished high school I was probably considering myself 100% a Poker Pro.

Which site is the best for online poker in your opinion and why?

Poker is a very mature industry today and there are many trustable companies around. Of course Pokerstars, where I have been Team Online for 3 years, is the best site especially for the great work of Scheinberg's family in the years. But I have been really impressed from the work of two other major sites: PlanetWin365 and 888poker. I know 888poker pretty close, since my girlfriend is an ambassador, and I admire them a lot. They are running very well, they have a really good VIP service and they treat the players very well as they deserve. Planetwin365, instead, impressed me so much that I decided to become their poker ambassador last year. Beside the major sites, it is one of the best place where you can start to play Poker today: the client is new, very modern and friendly users. The field is pretty soft, there are a lot of cash game tables running 24/7 and there are a lot of promotions running every week which gives a bigger opportunity to players to build a bankroll.

What do you think about playing poker as a way of living?

Honestly I think today it is very hard to play poker as job. Being a pro it means have spent tons and tons of hours playing poker, studying the math of the game, study the own game, facing periods of big downswings and having a solid tilt control. I always suggest to consider poker first like a hobby and have a good approach at poker based first of all on a solid bankroll management and on the study of the game. I don't want to teach anyone about life, but being successful at school, being social with friends and your family and have a solid job is more important than to become a poker pro. You can become a poker pro but before you have to accomplish a lot of steps, which means working very hard.

If you weren’t a pro poker player what would you be doing?

I follow markets as much as I can and I invest a part of my winnings in funds. I like finance in general and if Poker was not my job I was probably working in this area.

Who has been your biggest influence in poker?

It is very important to learn from the best in Poker and I always try to steal some knowledge from some top pros. By the way I think 3 players have influenced my career more than others. Dario Minieri, for my opinion he has been the best Online Poker player during the online poker boom and he inspired me to become a Supernova Elite and buy 2 Porsches using my FPP. Luca Pagano, teached me the real approach to the game. Alfio Battisti (he is not very well known but he is for my opinion one of the best heads up sit and goes players in the world ) and I shared a lot of poker strategy with him especially at the beginning of my career.

What do you think about online poker in general?

I think playing online poker is the best way to become a real complete poker player in the long run and to build a bankroll at same time. Today I'm playing mostly live but without online poker I could never have been able to play in the live circuit.

How does it feel to be first and youngest player to buy two Porsches using FPP?

It was very fun. I still drive my second Porsche Cayman and I still love it! At one point I had 10 million FPP to spend on Pokerstars, which was about 3 more Porsche's I could buy on the client but the Italian poker room manager did not allow to buy more cars so I had to spend them regularly in cash bonus.

Do you consider poker a stressful job?

Poker is stressful but at the same time is fun! Down swings can tilt you a lot, but I feel very lucky to be a Poker Pro. There are jobs which are much less stressful (and less paid!) which does not allow you to plan your time as you want. With poker it's possible to travel a lot and visit new places, meeting new people and winning a decent amount of money. So I feel pretty lucky to do this “stressful” job and I love it!

Any advice for beginners who want to follow along in your footsteps?

Bankroll management is everything and it is essential for any winning strategy. It is very important to start from bottom and level up step by step because making experience and play a decent volume of hands is crucial in order to step up your game. I also suggest to start to study the math and the theory of the game. Today you can just write what you need on Google and tons of material to study like articles, videos, forums or to find a good poker coach. It is also important to learn how to use properly the poker software like Holdem Manager or Poker Tracker which are essentials to grind online!

Are there any pros who have helped you along the way?

I already talked about it on a previous question but I can of course mention also my girlfriend Sofia, who is a poker ambassador for 888 and we help each other daily.

What is your playing schedule for the rest of 2014?

I will play for sure all EPT and WPT in Europe. I will also play the Battle of Malta in November and I invite all of you at the PlanetWin365 100k freeroll in Malta which starts the day after BOM!