Two weeks ago, Steve Illini213Barshak, who now calls Costa Rica home, came away with a victory in the PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up. On a day that saw two of each PokerStars Sunday Major played, Barshak beat a field of over 4,100 players to bank $131,000. The Warm-Up wasn’t chopped and finished with a heads-up battle between the American transplant and Poland’s Woher90. PocketFives caught up with Barshak to break down his latest accolade.

PocketFives: Thanks for joining us, Steve. It must be a little bittersweet to have to leave the United States, but still be able to stay on top of your game in the Warm-Up.

Steve Barshak: Definitely. Our town in Costa Rica (Playas del Coco) is incredible and I have some really great roommates and people around me. The atmosphere is amazing and we are lucky enough to stay in an amazing house.

PocketFives: Can you walk us through your Sunday Warm-Up win? We know you must have had a lot to pay attention to given PokerStars’ double Majors.

Steve Barshak: I chipped up early in the tournament, not doing anything too fancy, and just tried to outplay people post-flop and get good value. I stayed in control throughout the tournament and just tried to weigh every decision very heavily and think deeply before acting. I was deep in a few other tournaments at the time too, so that actually helped a lot. I wasn’t over-thinking the Warm-Up.

PocketFives: Did having two of each Sunday Major on PokerStars change your day or your approach in any way?

Steve Barshak: Not too much. It just made it a much more exciting day. I feel like PokerStars can’t go wrong having at least two Sunday Millions or Sunday Warm-Ups every week. I didn’t register for a few mid-stakes tournaments that I normally register for in order to be able to focus a little more on the big stuff.

PocketFives: Who are you living with in Costa Rica?

Steve Barshak: I live with Nickdawgg, cotchery89, Steve Murkle, and bullyon. It’s a great bunch of guys and we all have very similar interests. I live really close to Gettin Daize, Big Huni, telks, mtstackin88, nutserrytime, My Brim Low, shafeman, and a variety of others. The security dog for Huni and Daize’s place comes to hang out at our place very frequently.

PocketFives: Evaluate the prospects of coming back to the United States to play poker. What would it take for that to happen?

Steve Barshak: I really enjoy it out here in Costa Rica, but plan on being back in the United States in mid- to late May before the WSOP. The atmosphere in Costa Rica is much better than in the U.S. though, especially with how a lot of things are going in the U.S. nowadays. The political lobbying system really needs to change before I can be more positive about the U.S., but if online poker were regulated and good websites were made, I probably will be in the U.S. a good amount. What we are doing in Costa Rica is a special opportunity that many people don’t get and it really is one of the most peaceful places I’ve ever lived.

PocketFives: Are you looking forward to the WSOP, which starts in three short months?

Steve Barshak: I am quite excited for the $10,000 Six-Max event, the $3,000 Four-Max event, and the $5Ks. I really want to win a bracelet this summer and am as determined and focused as ever to do it. I know my live deep stack game is on par with the best in the world; now, I have to go out and get those results. I have put a ton of work into the deep stack aspects of my game and have talked to a lot of great poker minds about it whenever I can.

PocketFives: Last question for you. Talk about the process of having to pick up and move post-Black Friday and having to adjust your game ever since.

Steve Barshak: It was definitely very tough. It was a huge life transition and I played a lot of live poker after that period with little success. It definitely put me in a tough financial situation and it is really a shame that the government took so many online pros out of jobs with no notice.

Visit PokerStarsfor more information about the weekly Sunday Warm-Up.