One month ago, I was writing about Michael rock3656 Rocco’s domination of the Monthly PLB on PocketFives.com. He barreled through the month of June and racked up 2,732 PLB Points. For his encore performance, Rocco entered the Online Poker Rankings in early July, won the Ultimate Bet $200,000 Guaranteed, won nine major tournaments, and took down back-to-back Monthly PLB titles. He is the first repeat Monthly PLB winner on PocketFives.com and now seeks a three-peat of epic proportions as August sets in. We sat down with Rocco to discuss his domination of the online poker world.So how much did Rocco earn from tournaments that are tracked on PocketFives.com in July? Go ahead and make a guess. When the smoke cleared, Rocco had piled up a ridiculous $294,000 in 115 qualifying cashes. Those are two of the largest tallies I’ve ever seen in one month by a PocketFiver. He was in the winner’s circle of nine different tracked tournaments, including the $200,000 Guaranteed on Ultimate Bet, the $100,000 Guaranteed on PokerStars, and the Full Tilt Poker $40,000 Guaranteed. He also final tabled the Super Tuesday on Stars, the Full Tilt Friday Night Fight, and the Nightly Hundred Grand.
PocketFives.com: Tell us about becoming the first ever back-to-back Monthly PLB Champion.
Rocco: It’s pretty nuts, but it was never really a goal of mine. When I won the Ultimate Bet $200K early in the month, somebody mentioned it to me and I was just like, "Hey, that would be pretty cool, but it seems pretty unlikely." After I got a few other big scores early in the month, I made it a goal to finish out July strong and take it down. Every player that has ever won a Monthly PLB is world-class. It’s an honor to even be mentioned in the same sentence as most of them. To do it in back-to-back months is a feat I’m very proud of.
PocketFives.com: Are you playing with more confidence now?
Rocco: I have a lot of confidence going for me right now. I’m riding high and playing better poker than I ever have. I’m playing with no fear in the bigger tournaments that I used to be psyched out in. You have to truly feel like you’re better then your opponents no matter who you are playing against. When you’re at tough tables deep in big online tournaments, you have to play your game and not worry about anyone else. You have to be willing to pull the trigger whenever your gut says so and you have to be able to make big laydowns that some people view as standard calls. Nothing in poker is standard.
Too many people try to play tournament poker. All you can worry about are the dynamics at your own table. Just playing poker outside of the boundaries of what people think is right is a huge thing that I can attribute my recent success to. Another big thing I have learned is that you need to feel when you are on a rush and when your opponents are on a rush. The dynamics of this have affected my decisions lately and have been beneficial to my tournament game.
PocketFives.com: What was your most memorable in the money finish in July?Rocco: Final tabling the Super Tuesday was a huge deal for me. It’s a small field, big buy-in freezeout that is stacked with a lot of good players. I felt like I adjusted to my tables throughout the tournament very well. Justin ZeeJustin Bonomo (pictured at right) was on my left from three tables down and he made it really tough on me. He played absolutely great; it was a really good experience for me playing with him on my left deep-stacked in a big tournament. I felt like I made good adjustments and held my own against him throughout. It made me feel good about my game because he’s one of the top five tournament players in the world.
PocketFives.com: Are there still gaps in your game?Rocco: I’m not content with my game at all. I have so much to learn about poker that the word “gaps” is an understatement. If I ever want to be in the same class as people like Steve gboro780 Gross, Shaun shaundeeb Deeb (pictured at right), and Bonomo, I’m going to have to keep busting my ass. I can guarantee that I will continue to strive as hard as possible to be the best player I can possibly be. However, even those players that I mentioned have a lot to learn about poker and they’re the best in the world.
There are so many things yet to be uncovered that two years from now, everyone’s going to look back and laugh at what the best players in the world thought. The game is constantly evolving. You can never be satisfied or else the game will pass you by before you realize it.
PocketFives.com: Is there anyone you’d like to send a shout out to?
Rocco: My Mom and Grandma. They’ll read this and be really happy.
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