In mid-2007, Matt ch0ppyKay (pictured) signed up for PocketFives. Since then, the Canadian has been on a tear. He stands at #58 in our Online Poker Rankingsand owns a Triple Crown, which he booked in late 2010. He just passed $3.5 million in tracked cashes and in 2008, the Waterloo product could be found as high as #7 worldwide. The Canuck has contributed 200 posts to the community and opened the month of March by winning the PartyPoker $200,000 Guaranteed for $57,000 on the 11th.

Any way you slice it, Kay has had a rock solid start to 2012. In January, he finished second in the PokerStars $55 Rebuy for $18,000. Last month, the longtime PocketFiver final tabled the PokerStars Sunday Supersonic for $30,000. Then, last weekend’s win in the PartyPoker $200K boosted his bankroll by nearly $60,000.

PocketFives: Thanks for joining us. You’ve had a hot start to 2012.

Matt Kay: Yeah, for sure. I’m definitely happy with 2012 so far. I spent a lot of 2011 working out some problems in my game and it seems to have paid off so far.

PocketFives: Do you mind sharing what aspects of your game you’ve been focusing on?

Matt Kay: Mostly playing position better. A lot of my original strategies stopped working once people got better over the past few years and I had to adjust. I couldn’t get away with as much as I used to and had to find new ways to accumulate chips. The whole process was very gradual. A few of the things I figured out were from being exploited by other players. I then corrected what I was doing so that I wouldn’t be in those spots.

Another major thing I worked on was my desire to play. I was more forcing myself to play and not paying much attention when I was playing. Just focusing on the tournaments and not browsing the internet at the same time has been a big help. I also had to get more recent experience so I could figure out how to approach it. Back in 2007 and 2008, I paid attention well and had a good idea what people were thinking when they played back at me.

PocketFives: How soft is the $200,000 Guaranteedon PartyPoker and WPT Poker?

Matt Kay: It’s definitely one of the better Sunday tournaments, but I don’t think it’s as good as it used to be. After Black Friday, I’m sure some of the American players that moved are now playing on PartyPoker. It’s probably as soft as the Sunday Warm-Up.

PocketFives: Can you tell us a little bit about the structure of the tournament and how it played out for you?

Matt Kay: The structure was good. I was just patient and didn’t try to force anything. Heads-up play probably lasted over an hour. I had to get it in a good five times before I was finally able to win it. I think blinds ended at 50,000/100,000 with about seven million chips in play. There were 20-minute levels.

PocketFives: You’ve been a contributing member of PocketFives for five years now. When you first signed up for our community, did you ever think your career would last as long as it has?

Matt Kay: I’m not sure, but I didn’t think I’d be completely out of it by now. If my 2007 win rate had been sustained, I might not be playing as much now, but I think I’ll be playing at least Sundays for a while still. However, lately I’ve been putting in much more volume than just that. When I get unmotivated and cut back, it’s typically only Sundays when I feel the urge to play more.

PocketFives: Do you have any plans for the money outside of poker?

Matt Kay: I’m going to be buying gold stocks with some of the money. I have learned a lot about stocks over the past few years. I’m hoping I’ll be able to make enough at poker and be able to sustain myself with stocks later in life.

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