Up to $2.4 million in career online tournament winnings after hitting $2 million in November is hownorez (pictured) from the Czech Republic. “I feel good about it,” he told us of his new profile badge, “but profit is more important to me than winnings. Fortunately, I was able to make some decent profit recently too.”

His largest online poker score to date came three years ago in the PokerStars Sunday Million, a tournament he took third in for $116,000. “That one hit helped me a lot,” hownorez said. “I won some medium and big tournaments before that on iPoker and Full Tilt, but the Sunday Million really boosted my bankroll so I could take shots at bigger tournaments. It also boosted my confidence a little bit. I think I underestimated myself, so I was moving up in stakes very slowly. I have never busted my bankroll because I have been really careful. That Sunday Million finish accelerated my career in a big way.”

The following year in 2013, hownorez won a SCOOP $215 Four-Max tournament for $58,000. He called that event “one of my most favorite wins” and added, “It wasn’t such a big score money-wise, but it was full of great players who I respect and it was very tough for me, but I managed to play my A game and obviously got lucky. I think I have an edge on MTT regs because I used to play short-handed cash games at the start of my career, so I can adapt more quickly than MTT regs who are much better than me in full ring games.”

Also in 2013, he busted on Day 7 of the World Series of Poker Main Event. Because of his Sunday Million score, he could afford to travel to Las Vegas and told us, “I wanted to get that experience. Long story short, I busted on Day 7 in 18th place. For me, it was an unforgettable experience. I came from nowhere and then few days later, ESPN wanted to do an interview with me and they did some photo-shooting before the last day in the summer. These are small things, but it was an adrenaline rush for me.”

hownorez admitted that his family and friends were skeptical of his poker career. “They were afraid I would become an addict and lose all my money,” he explained. “They changed their minds after some time when I was regularly winning small tournaments. My mom asked me if I wasn’t too addicted to it like two years ago. I was studying at university and she was afraid I was playing too much poker instead of studying, I guess.”

He has been playing poker full-time since January and is looking for a coach. He said, “If somebody is interested in coaching me, I would be really grateful for any offer. I know I have many leaks to be fixed. Some of them I am able to fix myself, but there are a lot of leaks I don’t even know about, so I need someone who can help me find them and fix them.”

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