Some people are innately good at math. Once they start learning addition and subtraction, they’re instantly ahead of their peers. They’re the guys you turn to for help in your linear algebra class. They’re the guys who successfully sent a spacecraft to orbit Jupiter.

Other people are innately logical. If you present a problem to them, they’ll figure out a way to solve it in short order. There’s no situation they can’t get out of. They’re the ones creating those “escape room” games that have become so popular. And a lot of them are really good at math too and, consequently, really good at poker.

Falling into the category of “logic masterminds” is the UK’s Owain ‘sngwonder’ Carey, who cracked the top 100 of the PocketFives Rankings for the first time last week and just passed $2 million in career online tournament winnings. He has nowhere to go but up and recently finished second in the Super-Sized Sunday for $21,000.

“My ability to see things logically and break down all aspects of life like dating or life problems like you would a hand of poker makes me unique,” he said. “People say I’m very logically-minded. I have empathy about what other people would like and can help them problem-solve, which correlates to poker in terms of how we should play and understanding what your opponent would do next or how he perceives you. I give good advice, sometimes advice I don’t take myself.”

Carey’s explanation might sound like a far-fetched concept in poker, but if he can logically figure out what his opponents have and what they’re thinking, it’ll pay dividends. And it has seemed to have done just that so far. He has three top-three finishes in the PokerStars Sunday 500 for $120,000 combined, the three largest cashes of his career, and owns 131 tracked wins.

His logic even works well outside of the poker world, in those sticky real-life situations you sometimes find yourself in.

“On the way to EPT Deauville from Paris in a taxi, the driver got lost and didn’t speak English,” he said. “I knew how to get to the town without ever being there, told everyone to calm down, and gave him direct instructions just imagining the map in my brain. We got there in what was actually one of the most dangerous journeys I’ll ever make, as he was slowing down to 30 miles per hour on a motorway to look at road signs with three poker pros on board.”

As scary as it was, Carey and company made it to the EPT event based on his brainwaves and perhaps a bit of good luck that their taxi didn’t get rear-ended.

Carey thinks his ability to reason logically comes from natural intelligence. “It’s probably genetic from my parents, who are both switched on,” he said. “I don’t really study within poker, either. I just go and play and have a natural feel for it.”

Now it’s time for the SAT hit parade word of the day: empathy. It’s the ability to understand and share the feelings of another, the capacity to place oneself in another’s position. In poker, that kind of knowledge is critical to reading opponents, running bluffs, and planning steps ahead of everyone else at the table. Without it, a player is flying blind.

“Being logical brings natural empathy,” he said. “That’s integral in poker to reading opponents and second-guessing what their next move will be. I know chess players list empathy as integral too.”

Being logical has also allowed the sole registered PocketFiver from the Welsh country town of Haverfordwest to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to poker trends, as evidenced by the fact that he has $2 million in career winnings online along with another $266,000 in live scores, according to the Hendon Mob. In fact, the latter lists Carey as #10 on the all-time money list for Wales.

“I’m happy about my longevity, but realized I must have spent a long time alone at the PC to rack up those cashes,” he said. “But, it shows I didn’t get left behind in the current climate of poker, which is a lot tougher. I’ve always tended to pick up the current trends of MTT poker fairly easily. I’m currently playing pretty balanced and don’t have range distance between value and bluffs, whereas two years ago when the climate was different I was way more aggressive and laggy.”

He’s not showing any signs of slowing down, either. In fact, the sky seems to be the limit, especially for a mind that can reason what another person is thinking.

“I haven’t reached anywhere near what I would like to in poker,” he said. “The job is a million miles from done. I’ll be moving up gears, I hope in the next couple of years. I haven’t really felt any kind of satisfaction or achievement yet. So, my head is firmly in the game for the foreseeable future.”