It’s not easy grinding poker. Once you wake up, it’s time to hit the tables, navigate the ups and downs, eat, exercise, spend time with family and friends, play some more, go to sleep, and do it all again the next day. Grinding does have its perks, though, like online poker Triple Crowns. One of the 13 Triple Crowns awarded thus far in August went to Russia’s madlam (pictured). He also booked one in July for good measure.

In fact, madlam scored back-to-back Triple Crowns in late July and early August, raking in a bundle of tournament wins over the span of six days. We’ll start on July 28, when he took down the $11 Rebuy on PokerStars. Then, it was off to William Hill for a victory in the iPoker Network’s $30 Rebuy followed by a gold medal in the 888 Poker Monsoon. Nearly 400 PLB Points later, madlam booked his first Triple Crown in about 24 hours.

A few days later, he was back at it. With no rest for the weary, madlam won the PokerStars $33 Cubed, Full Tilt Wednesday Wiggle, and William Hill $25,000 Guaranteed in the span of just three days. By August 3, he had booked his second online poker Triple Crown in a week, a remarkable achievement that boosted Russia’s Triple Crown total to 17.

He told PocketFives in an exclusive interview, “I’m feeling good, not only because of the two Triple Crowns in one week, but also because at the same time I started to win money again after four months of losing. Triple Crowns are just a bonus.”

On August 4, the day after his second Triple Crown win, he blasted through the field of the PartyPoker $50,000 Guaranteed following a chop and officially landed $10,000. We asked him to talk about his fifth largest tracked cash to date: “With PartyPoker’s prize jumps, we decided to make a deal. I was the chip leader and at the same time had other tables open. I don’t know how other guys have so much patience.” PartyPoker is on the brink of rolling out new software.

He found poker through a Russian gaming portal where players engaged in CounterStrike and similar forms of entertainment were trying their hand at cards. He plays full-time now and told us, “Sometimes I grind every time I am not sleeping or eating, but sometimes I don’t play for like a month. My friends and family know I play poker, but I never talk with them about it. For example, if someone from my family or friends knew I could go on a losing streak for $20,000 or more, they’d look at me like I was a freaky gambler. I don’t want to explain how that can happen.”

madlam is ranked #13 in Russia and #361 worldwide, his highest position ever. He is on the cusp of breaking $800,000 in career tracked online poker earnings. Learn how to win your own Triple Crown by visiting our Triple Crown Wall of Champions.

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