Formerly a #1 player in the PocketFives Poker Rankings, Aaron aguskb Gustavson (pictured) can currently be found at #6. He’s the top-ranked online player in Mexico and recently hit $4 million in career scores in tournaments we track. Not too shabby.

“It was a pretty quick run from $3 million to $4 million,” Gustavson told us, “so that means I’ve been putting in good volume, which is the goal. I’m happy with myself for putting in the hours.” His largest score this year is a second place finish in the PokerStars Super Tuesdayfor $52,000, while his biggest score all-time is a $135,000 splash for winning the Warm-Up in 2009.

Gustavson has been a member of PocketFives since 2007. It’s hard to believe, but that’s eight years ago, so we asked him if he’s growing weary of grinding day after day. “This year I’m feeling a little burnt out from all of the hours,” he responded, “but overall I’m doing okay. I’m third in the PokerStars Yearly TLB and there’s a big jump from third to fourth in prize money, so I’m going to try to grind out the rest of the year and stay at third or better. In general with poker, I’m definitely tired. I plan to play fewer hours starting in January.”

The Mexico player has certainly spent a bunch of time in his chair, which he has worn out to the point that it barely looks like a piece of furniture (pictured). “I just play with a laptop with a 27″ monitor,” Gustavson said of his grind station. “I’m transitioning laptops at the moment because my current one is hanging on for its life. My setup is far from baller because I didn’t know how long I’d be in this apartment, so I never invested in the setup. Come the middle of next year, the plan is to be settled down in one place a bit more long-term so hopefully I’ll have a nicer setup then.”

As we said, Gustavson is a former #1 playeron PocketFives and was ranked at the top as recently as late September. “Up-and-coming players in tournaments need to truly understand that the swings can be very brutal in this game,” he explained. “Mentally, you have to be ready for it. It’s extremely important to not to play out of your bankroll because of this. You become too emotional and attached to say one specific flip lost when it’s much more about the bigger picture.”

He added, “Having outlets outside of poker for fun or stress relief is super important as well. I’d say a healthy balance, putting in the hours on and off the table, and being financially smart managing your funds.”

As he alluded to, it hasn’t been a 100% rosy ride to the top for Gustavson. He relayed that “fighting through downswings, especially when you feel like you’re playing well” has been the toughest part thus far. “In tournaments, you really need those top finishes. Sometimes those stretches of fifths to 20ths get very frustrating,” he said.

Congrats to aguskb on hitting $4 million in online MTT cashes.

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