Brandon ‘tedSTRETCH’ Merrill won his fourth Triple Crown, credit: CodigoPoker

Sometimes all you need is a change of scenery. A new perspective. Something different to wake up to every morning. For Brandon ‘tedSTRETCH’ Merril, a move from Costa Rica to Colombia meant a noticeable boost to his poker game.

Last year, Merrill gathered his belongings, stuffed them in a few bags, and moved southeast from Jaco Beach, Costa Rica to Medellin, Colombia. Jaco is on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica and is the equivalent of a 24/7 spring break. Its beautiful scenery, warm climate, and sprawling beaches have made the seaside hamlet a popular destination for poker players from the United States and around the world.

Now, contrast white sandy beaches with the urban metropolis of Medellin, Colombia, located six hours from the nearest natural sand. It has a population of over two million and could not be more dissimilar to Jaco. It’s like comparing apples to basketballs.

“It’s pretty imperative to know Spanish here,” Merrill said. “There is hardly any English spoken. So, I have been spending a lot of time studying and learning to speak Spanish correctly. I almost think pronouncing things correctly is harder than the game of poker for me.”

Why move? Why lose any hope of mastering how to surf?

“Jaco was pretty awesome for the first year I was there,” he said, “Especially since I hadn’t traveled much outside the United States besides Mexico. But it’s a pretty big party town and full of tourists and people passing through. It’s almost like a miniature U.S. for ex-pats in that you don’t need to speak Spanish and the prices are not that much cheaper.”

Merrill met his current roommates in Costa Rica and they invited him to make the journey 600 miles away. So far, the decision has proven to be profitable financially and emotionally.

“I have been liking Colombia way more than Costa Rica even though there is no surf close by,” he said. “Colombia also has been at the top of the list of happiest countries for the last couple of years. This year, I want to tour South America now that my Spanish is passable and maybe hit up the LAPT circuit a lot more.”

Not only have his linguistics gotten better, but a desire to alter his lifestyle has been ignited as well. “I started eating healthy, working out a ton, and paying a chef to prepare meals for me on grinding days the last six months,” Merrill shared. “I have always been pretty healthy and skinny, but didn’t really realize the tremendous impact doing things right would have on my mental state and clarity while grinding.”

When he’s not playing online, Merrill spends time at a nearby manmade lake where he enjoys wakeboarding and jet skiing. He also plays soccer with other poker players who live in the area.

Medellin, Colombia, Merrill’s new digs, credit: MaverickTraveler

Merrill believes that without the move, he would not be as successful as he is today.

“A couple of my roommates don’t go out partying at all, and the others rarely do, so it’s definitely easier to stay focused on playing and discussing hands than other living situations I have been in,” he said. “Also, the climate is perfect. It’s not usually too hot or too cold. That really helps when I have a bad session or when I’m running badly.”

His roommates are heads-up and Six Max cash game grinders who have had a profound impact on Merrill’s game. As he put it, “Cash players are way more GTO sound.”

In February, Merrill won his fourth PocketFives Triple Crown, an award that requires a player to win three $10,000 prize pool tournaments across three sites tracked for the PocketFives Rankings within a seven-day period. He won MTTs on PokerStars.fr, PokerStars, and 888 and piled up 467 PLB Points for his fourth award. He won his third Triple Crown last August.

“I had a few nice scores in February and saw that I had a shot at getting the Monthly PLB, so I tried to put in a ton of volume towards the end of the month,” Merrill said. “I ended up not winning the PLB, but it was nice to get the Triple Crown without really trying for it. I have had a lot of times where I just needed one more win to cinch the Triple Crown, but couldn’t close.”

Merrill ended up finishing third in the February Monthly PLB race with 2,440 points. While the new locale is certainly helping, Merrill believes being a student of the game is more important than many realize.

“I try to take as many tips and tricks from guys who are crushing the game and implement them in my own game and lifestyle,” said Merrill.

He has piled up $3.3 million in career online tournament winnings and ascended all the way to #39 in the rankings, his best showing ever. Moreover, he’s the top-ranked player in Colombia and has an amazing 835 top-three finishes in online MTTs, 60 more than the most successful online player in history, Chris ‘moorman1‘ Moorman.