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| He won the Aussie Millions Accumulator Event back to back in 2015 and 2016 |
Q: Who were your poker heroes if any? Anyone in particular influenced you the most in becoming who you are today?
- I used to love Tom Dwan when I first started out, his loose aggressive style was fun to watch. I also used to watch a lot of Phil Galfond's videos back in the day. Nowadays I really respect the German boys because they just crush so hard. To be honest I think my game improved the most after I met Kitty Kuo and her friends through my buddy Victor Chong in 2016. Hanging out with Kitty and her crew definitely exposed me to better players and gave me the opportunity to pick their brains and learn from them.
Q: What would you say is your proudest achievement in your career?
- Not going busto and being a consistent winner haha. Winning is great and all that, but anyone can win once. It takes a whole lot more to win consistently and not go busto haha.
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| Michael with good friend and fellow Malaysian Pro Victor Chong |
Q: What's next for you? Do you intend to play poker for life, or have a number in mind and retire after that?
- I will keep playing poker till I get bored of it. I am sure I will have other interests along the way, but the best part about poker is that you have the flexibility to decide when to play and when not to.
Q: If you could talk to the Michael Soyza of 2008, what would you say to him?
- You're good bro, enjoy the ride.
Q: How did the nickname Maharaja come about?
- Oh God -.- To be honest, I really do not like the name Maharajah -.- It would be fine if there was a single shred of truth to it, but there is not. I have no Royal links whatsoever. Therefore it is a lame nickname in my books. My buddy Charles Chua AKA Chucky AKA Mr. Macau created the nickname for me for no apparent reason because he is an idiot. He used to randomly go to tables that I was playing on and tell people that I was a prince from so and so country and that I am a Maharajah etc etc etc for his own entertainment. Since then, Victor Chong has taken up the torch and has been proliferating this nickname much to my despair.
Q: What was your lowest moment in your career and how did you overcome it?
- I think my lowest moment was when I had my last $500 of my $4000 allocated poker bankroll on the table in a really good 5/10 game when I first started playing. Thank goodness my allocated poker bankroll was not linked to my life roll so I wouldn't be busto if I had lost it, but still it would have been annoying to have busted my poker roll haha. Lucky for me, the poker God's were on my side and I distinctly remember the defining hand which decided my fate. I had folded for an orbit and had around $470 left, it goes raise call, call, call call, call or smth, I look down at QQ, rip it in for all my chips and get like 4 callers pre. Flop comes 3 low cards, checks around, Turn comes an A, one guy bets, another guys raises all-in, and I'm like GG that's that, however the other guy folds and the guy who went all-in showed a bare flush draw lol. River bricks and I scoop. Basically won my entire roll back that night and that marked the beginning of my upswing which has carried on till this day.
In my encounters with Michael he is a very humble and nice person. He is very friendly and chatty on the tables and I was quite pleasantly surprised that he remembered my name. I don't think I have heard him swear on the tables, nor has he thrown any tantrums. Even after bad beats he would just smile and nod and move on. He is an exemplary poker pro to learn from. I wish him the best in his career and hopefully we will meet again, maybe heads up for a title someday.
Join Soyza on Natural8 using the code POKER168 and play!
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