Lex Veldhuis: “You Are Not Indestructible”

Becoming GGPoker Ambassador

Q: Was GG Sponsorship always gonna happen or was it something that came to be after you moved to Costa Rica due to Dutch legal issues?

Lex: We started chatting somewhere in August. The move was for personal reasons.

Q: When you signed with GG, what kind of deal did you get?

Lex: I don’t really talk about the specifics of a deal, but I can say that if a site operates efficiently, like GG, you try to empower pros in their strongest areas. I.e. you don’t force big live streamers to play live a lot. Or you don’t tell Vloggers to play big online series. So everyone’s contract is different in that sense. There is no blueprint.

Q: Do you like Mystery Bounty, Ocean KO or normal bounty tournaments more and if you can explain why?

Lex: I love Ocean KO because it’s like a more evolved Mystery Bounty. MB’s I like less but I really like the higher stakes ones with a smaller field because all-ins and chests feel so tangible and significant. I don’t like huge fields ones as much.

Q: GGPoker high rollers have some absolute wizards in the field. How do you approach those tournaments?

Lex: I just want to not give up ground. If I make mistakes I want them to be on the aggressive side so at least I can be a headache to play against instead of easy. I have to stick to my own game, if I start adjusting I make the gap bigger. I think the 1000th poker player in the world would be the best reg 10 years ago.

Poker Advice & Retrospection on Career

Q: How old were you when you started watching/playing poker?

Lex: We played a lot of a 5 card draw for 10ct buyins when I was 15. We did that every weekend for like half a year. If poker was on TV I would have probably watched it too. But then I stopped till I was 19 and started playing online.

Q: I’ve only been playing poker for a month… Do you still remember what it was like at the very beginning of your career?

Lex: Fck yeah, holy sht amazing times. Everyone was so new and it felt like the wild wild west. It really felt like playing your favorite RPG of all time at the start.

Q: What are the differences between getting into the world of poker today and when you were starting out? If you had to start playing poker from zero today, how would you do it?

Lex: The biggest difference is back in the day you had to learn through playing, and nowadays all the info/study material is available. So even without playing you can improve rapidly. I would focus on getting better and playing games that don’t risk me going broke while still getting reps in.

Q: If you are unknown and want to build a poker income from scratch how would you start nowadays?

Lex: I would start in games that you want to eventually play so the things you learn stay relevant as you move up stakes. But avoid playing too high and just play smaller fields so you have less variance. It’s not about hitting the jackpot. It’s good to have a job and then study/play in freetime and build up your bankroll and skill level.

Q: What would be your number one tip to win at microstakes online cash games?

Lex: Learn preflop ranges, don’t consider yourself knowledgeable. Play for the game, not for money.

Q: How much mathematics are you actually doing in your head when making decisions online?

Lex: Math is constantly there, especially playing bounty builders. Then I would also say during bettings patterns, and also decide what your pot odds are to know what kind of equity you need to call it off.

Q: What’s the one thing in poker you most want, that you did not yet achieve?

Lex: I would say winning a bracelet would be very nice yeah. It was a huge goal of mine when I was younger. Also it’s a bit of a regret of mine how I took grinding WSOPs for granted.

Q: What areas of poker do/did you find the hardest to study then implement into your game?

Lex: The hardest areas to study are always the one with the widest ranges. So I think blind vs blind is very difficult even though it’s extremely important because of how much it happens.

Q: How do you see the future of online poker and poker streaming?

Lex: They are vital to the stream and the development over the years. People love them for good reason but don’t even know half of what they do outside of the stream. Having an ear on the ground in the community, checking in on people. Coming up with cool ideas. The whole adventure I do during tournament series is their creation and they fill it in every time. Takes soooo much work and is a huge addition to the stream. Genuinely blessed to have them.

Lex’s Thoughts About Other Players

Q: What’s the one thing that made you secretly love Phil Hellmuth and his commentary?

Lex: I really don’t like hearing Hellmuth talk about poker, that’s not a meme. I think it’s just so basic and wrong and a little tilting. I like talking to him, he’s not a bad guy, and he is good for poker.

Q: How did you feel when you realized Phil Ivey bluffed you with 52o?

Lex: It was pretty funny because me and my friends would watch HSP every Monday morning when we all woke up. Everyone would come to my house and we’d get food and watch. I told them I played a huge hand vs Ivey and I couldn’t wait to see what he had. The moment the hand came in vision and he was shown to have 52o a friend of mine threw a sandwich in my face (literally) and said god you suck, and they all left lol.

Who needs enemies when you have friends like that.

Q: If you could put together one legendary poker lineup today, which players would absolutely have to be part of it?

Lex: In terms of wanting to hear table talk and just watch them play as a fly on the wall. Doyle, Chip Reese, Negreanu, Ivey, Stu Ungar.

Q: Who do you think are the best online MTT regs currently?

Lex: I’m not good enough to have a definitive answer to this question. But the people that come to mind are Vladimir Minko (ServlaMin), MalakaStyle (Juan Dominguez), C.Darwin, Mateos, Lena900.

Should have mentioned European and Simon Beckmann. Might be my top 2 right now.

Q: If all high stakes poker players are net positive, who is giving out the money?

Lex: You.

Family, Streaming, and…Anime

Q: What pays more: streaming income or poker winnings?

Lex: I think generally sponsor contracts would make you a pretty good winning reg income-wise. Add the stability of it and it’s just very nice!

Q: How much are you actually up from playing poker?

Lex: Poker few 7 digits. It feels weird to type it here but that’s what I answer on stream without being specific. Last year was up 150k-ish but then started playing extremely high in August so swinging like crazy atm. I would say like +40 on the year.

Q: Why are you so popular?

Lex: The feedback I get most is that my emotions while playing are relatable and that what you see is what you get.

Q: How fantastic at RuthAnn & Croaks? What have the mods done in helping your stream be #1 on Twitch Poker?

Lex: They are absolutely instrumental. People love them and don’t know half the work they do. They have an ear on the ground in the community and constantly check in with everyone. They also do a lot of research for me as well as think of an adventure every tournament series. The whole adventure was thought of by them anyway! They are vital and super important to the stream. I trust them 100000%.

Q: How is Costa Rica holding up for you and your family so far?

Lex: We love it here, we love Costa Rica, the kids love their school, the people are nice, and the people we’re meeting are awesome. The timezone is perfect for poker as well.

Q: How do you manage streaming, playing poker and family life? How have things changed in this aspect as you moved up stakes? Did it get easier to manage everything?

Lex: Well moving up stakes creates more pressure, tougher games, and more work to stay in good poker shape, so it takes more time. I think it’s very important to look at your life balance as filling up tetris blocks. You put the biggest most important pieces in the bottom and then look at how you fill the roster up. Family, being a present dad is most important, health is important (used to prioritize poker) and then I fill it up with poker hobbies and friendships. When one of them gets too big just have to re-adjust once in a while.

Q: Any hobbies outside of poker?

Lex: I love racket spots like Padel and playing pool.

Q: What anime would you recommend for newcomers to watch so they won’t feel insecure and embarrassed as an adult?

Lex: Animes for non-creep adults: Solo Leveling, Attack on Titan, Death Note.

Q: If you could meet your 21-year-old self today, what advice would you give him?

Lex: Nobody remembers the bullshit, you are not indestructible, health is not a given.