» Marc Karam Interview
Marc Karam, 28, is a well established poker pro from Ottawa, Canada who has enjoyed considerable online and live poker success for a number of years. He plays high stakes cash games online, as high as $200/$400, and he has also made his mark at the World Poker Tour, European Poker Tour and World Series of Poker. His biggest score of $1.6 million at the 2007 EPT Monte Carlo was also his biggest disappointment when he was rivered all in heads up missing out on the additional $1.2 million and first place title. In February of 2010, Marc signed as a Full Tilt Poker pro and has now issued the poker world with a prop bet challenge - that he can play 60,000 hands of Rush poker in a 24 hour period and come out with a profit. Bet against him if you dare!
Welcome to Poker Curious, Marc. Tell us a bit about your background.
I was born in Montreal, Canada to parents of Lebanese descent, and I've lived most of my life in Ottawa. After high school, I moved to Cleveland, Ohio for a couple of years to stay with some family. After moving back to Ottawa, I worked for a construction company for a few years before becoming a professional poker player.
You have been on the poker scene for a long time now and have many great results to your name. Can you tell us how you got involved and came up in the game?
It was while I was living in Cleveland that I really learned Texas Hold'em. A bunch of my friends there used to play every week and I started playing with them, that was around 1998. After moving back to Ottawa, I started playing online poker for fun and eventually made small deposits to play for real money. After lots of practice I came a winning player, and I was eventually making a lot more money playing poker than I was at my job, that's when I decided to turn pro.
What was it that really allowed your game to move to the higher levels and compete in the biggest tournaments?
Pretty much a fierce competitiveness, dedication to the game, discussions with other good players, and lots and lots of experience.
What advice would you give to new players in the current poker environment trying to move their way through the stakes? Do you think things are harder now than they were a few years ago?
As I mentioned, lots of experience. It also helps if you are very competitive and always strive to be the best at what you do. Nowadays there are many training sites and the like where you can get knowledge a lot quicker than you could in the old days. Where we used to learn things from trial and error, now you have videos of people showing you how to avoid those errors without actually making them. The game is probably harder now than it used to be, but it is still definitely beatable. Despite what they say, not everyone is solid.
What is your fondest poker memory? Is there any one particular event that stands out from your career so far?
It has to be my second place finish in EPT Monte Carlo in 2007. It was my largest cash ever, $1.6 million and I actually got rivered in a coinflip for all of the chips in play which cost me an extra $1.2 million and the championship. As heartbreaking as it was, it is still my fondest poker memory.
Do you still give as much time and effort to the game as you did in past years? Do you think it is important to always continue to study so as to stay ahead of the curve?
The funny thing is, I put in a lot more time now than I ever have. I've played over a million hands on Full Tilt since signing with them in late February, and I'm still adjusting my strategies every now and then. I can't stress enough how important it is to keep up with the ever evolving dynamics of the game. If you don't study the game and keep up with current trends, you'll get left behind behind pretty quickly.
What is the biggest mistake you see players making these days? And what is the best way for good players to take advantage of these mistakes?
There's not really one mistake that stands out from the rest in my mind, it could be playing too loose, too tight, calling or bluffing too much, etc. As a winning player your job is to identify these leaks and exploit them.
There has been coverage recently of your Rush Poker challenge. Can you tell us about the bet, what it involves and the current status? Have you received action on the prop yet?
Well I've been playing Rush Poker exclusively for the past few months, and I'm now comfortably playing 12 to 16 tables of it. After some quick research, I discovered that the record hands in one day with profit was 50,000. I know I could play 60,000 hands in a day, the question is whether I could do it profitably or not, considering you have barely over 1 second per hand over a 24 hour period. Right now, I'm waiting to see if Full Tilt wants to get involved with the challenge. I've received a good amount of interest in the prop bet on 2+2.
Do you have any interesting insights or tips specific to Rush Poker that you could share with our readers?
Rush Poker is great, it helps a lot of players who find they get bored sitting at one table, but aren’t comfortable enough to play three or four tables at the same time. Instead of starting to play garbage hands, you can instantly fold your hand and get a new one; there is no wait time. Playing one Rush table is equivalent to playing up to four normal tables. And the nice thing about it is you can increase your play at your own pace. So for players who like to take their time, they can play 200 hands an hour, but for players who are more experienced and play very quickly, they can play up to 400 hands an hour, all while playing one table. If you feel like one table is getting easy, then you can play two Rush tables at the same time, which is like playing eight regular tables. And so on.
Have you been involved in any other funny or exciting prop bets or any others planned for the future?
This is actually my first ever (potential) prop bet. I'm not really involved in much betting off the poker tables.
Can you tell us a couple of things about Marc Karam that most people would not already know?
Growing up, my dream was to be a professional (American) football player. I always had pretty good hands as a wide receiver, but I didn't have the height or speed. That dream quickly faded.
I'm a saltwater aquarium enthusiast. I've been planning a 300+ gallon aquarium for a while and have been doing a lot of reading online for the past few months. It's a pretty complex task to run a healthy coral reef tank compared to your typical freshwater aquarium with goldfish in it. I've always been fascinated with ocean life.
What is your normal poker schedule like, online and live?
I try to play at least 40 hours a week. I don't have a set schedule, I play when it's convenient. I've been playing 3 or 4 rounds of golf a week this summer, so most of my play has been at night. I'm not a big fan of Canadian winters so I'll probably be hibernating and putting in a lot more hours during that time. I don't play live events very often, I probably play around five major events a year.
Do you prefer playing live or online poker? Your live results have been impressive, what remaining goals do you have?
I definitely prefer online poker. You can start and stop whenever you like, and you're always in your own house. I'm not a huge fan of life on the road. Yeah, I did run extremely well a couple of years ago. I forget the exact numbers, but I think I made 3 major $10k final tables in a row and 4 out of 5. It's was an unbelievable experience and I'm still riding on that momentum to this day. I feel confident every time I go into a tournament. My only remaining goal is to get that elusive 1st place. I've won a few side events but never a major.
What is the best thing that becoming a professional player has afforded you in life?
My life really isn't as exciting as most people would make it out to be. All I do is play poker, golf, and spend time with friends and family, with the occasional traveling here and there. By far the best thing poker has afforded me in life is freedom. Nobody tells you what to do, and you can afford to do most of the things you'd ever like to.
What is the biggest mistake you have made throughout your career? What did you learn from it and what did you do to correct it?
When I was first coming up in the game, I didn't have the greatest bankroll management. I would play in games I only had a few buy-ins for, and would blow what little bankroll I had and would have to redeposit again. Now it's my #1 focus and I haven't made a deposit since 2005. There were a few hiccups in 2007 during my Prima network days where I played $200/$400 NL on a regular basis with only 20 - 30 buy-ins and I had some pretty big swings. I always play with 50 - 100 buy-ins now.
Is there any specific event, hand, a-ha moment that you can remember from your career so far when suddenly you felt like everything began to click at a higher level?
Hmm, there wasn't really a special hand that changed things. I've made some pretty big hero calls in my time but they were just that; heroic calls that turned out to be good with the help of a little thinking and some luck. I've always been pretty adept at card and strategy games, with a lot of hard work it translated into success at poker.
What are your interests away from the poker tables?
I've mentioned what some of my hobbies are from my other answers. I'm a golf fanatic, even though this is only my second year of playing. That's another game that takes a lot of hard work to excel at, and I'm pretty obsessed with it. Saltwater aquariums. Movies. Fishing, me and a few friends go on a week long trip every year to Northern Ontario where we rent a cottage and boats and just fish from sunrise to sunset. Out of everything I do all year, it's probably the thing I look forward to most.
If you could give other players, be them novice or professional, one piece of advice for both being successful at poker and at life what would it be?
Just work hard for what you want and never lose focus.
What does the future hold for Marc Karam?
I can't say for sure. I'd like to stay involved in poker for a very long time. Whether it's playing, teaching, being an affiliate, consulting or running poker forums. I love everything about it.
What is your favorite fun poker phrase/slang/acronym?
"You call, it's gonna be all over baby." - Scotty Nguyen
If the poker industry disappeared completely, what other career would you most like to attempt?
Real estate investing. Even with poker around, I've started to dabble in it and it will be my second career either way.
If you were on death row, what would be your last meal?
Lol, nice question. Lots of sushi.
When your poker career is over, what would you most like to be remembered for?
Accomplishments in poker are nice to be remembered for. I also enjoy helping people in one way or another, and poker can be used to do so through charity events and the like.
If you want to check out Marc Karam's personal website
