One of the very first members of PokerStarsTeam Online was Randy NanonokoLew (pictured), who has made a habit of mass multi-tabling. He was Supernova Elite on PokerStars in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 and set a new Guinness World Record in January 2012 when he played a total of 23,493 hands online in eight hours, ending up with a profit. Never one to back down from a poker-related challenge, Lew sat down with PocketFives to talk about his incredibly successful career.

PocketFives: You recently finished seventh in the ACOP Macau Main Event for over $100,000, nearly two years to the day after you won the APPT Macau Main Event for nearly $500,000. Tell us about your most recent live final table.

Randy Lew: It’s actually a really great feeling. Typically at the time of busting, I feel a bit disappointed, but after reflecting on my results from when I started taking MTTs more seriously, I can see my hard work paying off. That’s very rewarding in itself. It’s also quite an accomplishment to make two final tables within three years of traveling to Macau, so I’m feeling pretty good.

PocketFives: Talk about how live poker in tournaments in Macau are different from live tournaments in North America and Europe.

Randy Lew: For the PokerStars live tournaments in Macau specifically, the tournaments actually feel very player-friendly. For one, the structure is much deeper than anywhere else I’ve played. There are extra blind levels you usually don’t see. There was even an average big blind stack of 100 at the final table! Another thing is that the scheduling on how long you play is shorter here, so it feels more relaxing. They really do cater to how the players here love to party late, so they tend to start around 3:00pm. All in all, I think those points alone make me play better.

PocketFives: How does it feel to be a founding member of Team PokerStars Online?

Randy Lew: I’ve been with the team since the beginning. When they were scouting players to join the team initially, they actually sent out applications to apply to join if you were interested. For me, it was a no-brainer to apply because I was always aspiring to be part of Team PokerStars. I was ecstatic when they selected me and have been happy to represent ever since.

PocketFives: How long did it take for your family to accept your poker career when you first started?

Randy Lew: That’s a funny thing because they actually didn’t know I played poker for a long time. But, when they eventually found out, they were quite supportive of me and really never had any questions or hesitations. I think that’s because they’ve always supported and trusted anything I did.

PocketFives: How did they not know you played poker?

Randy Lew: They just never did. I think they always thought I was working on the internet. They aren’t the most technologically sound people. They got excited when they recently got a cell phone.

PocketFives: Do you still mass multi-table? What stakes and how many tables?

Randy Lew: Yeah, I still mass multi-table. However, things are different now in that I travel these days to play the live circuit or online poker. Nowadays, I play on my 15-inch laptop, so I have to overlap my tables, which I’m not the biggest fan of, so I probably play about 16 to 20 tables on average, but am still willing to play 24. Sometimes four of those tables are Zoom tables, which is actually quite tough. As for stakes, I mainly play $3/$6 No Limit to $5/$10 No Limit and I’ll play $10/$20 to $50/$100 No Limit if it’s available. I’m slowly adding more MTTs to my daily schedule, but I definitely do the Sunday Funday thing.

PocketFives: What MTTsdo you play regularly?

Randy Lew: Mainly just the ones on Sundays, but sometimes I’ll play other days, but not like a full schedule. You’re looking at the Super Tuesday and a few surrounding tournaments.

You can catch Randy on Twitter at @nanonoko and on Facebook at facebook.com/nanonoko. You can play with him on PokerStars. If you don’t already have a PokerStars account, create one through PocketFives’ links to get a 100% deposit bonus up to $600 and one free month of PocketFives Training. Get started here.

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