Anatoly Filatov, a Russian professional poker player, although he is not the most famous person in his country, nevertheless, he is rapidly achieving success on a global scale. Anatoly Filatov poker made his way of life, and definitely brought it to a whole new level.
Successful person
After conversations with a famous player, all journalists note that he is happy to share his thoughts, emotions and hobbies.
In an interview, Anatoly often admits that he is open to the ideas of other people, and considers himself much smarter than most people in Russia.
In stories about his Moscow apartment, the player comments on the situation with space housing prices in the capital of Russia. Renting a small apartment is very expensive. For example, buying 200 m 2 in any other country, you can pay a much lower amount than the one that he spent on a small (40 m 2 ) apartment in Moscow.
Filatov first achieved significant results in his first real (non-virtual) tournament in 2012 in Vienna. Then the second place and the prize amount of 10,000 euros received exactly Anatoly Filatov. His biography also contains information that a little later his earnings were replenished by 366,700 euros in prize payments.
The amount of his winnings reaches 1.6 million dollars.
Frequent Visits to the USA
Filatov is a frequent guest of the United States, and is used to making money in poker tournaments in different countries, the number of which reaches eight.
In his blogs about traveling to the United States, he writes a lot about differences in culture and social climate. This point of view is completely unique for a person from a country such as Russia, where most people travel to foreign countries with the goal of just relaxing and having a good time.
Poker in their family is only his passion
In an interview with reporters, the player repeatedly noted that he would like the Russians to stop creating a bad opinion about Russian residents abroad, constantly getting drunk and disrespectful to others. He himself admits that he never smoked, and does not drink alcohol at all, despite the fact that his parents never forbade him to do so.
His parents always supported him in everything, although they perceived poker only as a hobby.
In his opinion, many Russians drink as much as they bluff, too much. But this is not for him, as he himself declares, since he is married.
His acquaintance with his wife (they were 19 years old) occurred at a time when one of the conferences was held, at which they both attended.
The wife of Anatoly Filatov is not a fan of poker. He is very glad that she is not interested in poker, but is studying psychology. He says that he could never marry the one who plays poker, of which he is absolutely convinced. Anatoly Filatov would have divorced his wife, according to him, if she began to be interested in poker.
There were rumors that Anatoly Filatov divorced his wife, but in fact this is not so. They often travel to many of the live tournaments together, even though the wife is not a poker player.
Favorite literature and hobbies
He loves visiting other countries to see how other people live and think. He says that he was in Asia, Europe and the United States, China. He is fond of books by Lao Tzu (a Chinese philosopher who lived from 604-531 BC), books on Buddhism, and is a big fan of Bruce Lee (he read about ten books about him).
In addition to poker, it is worth adding to the hobbies of the star:
- travels;
- familiarization with the culture and literature of different countries;
- collection of colorful shirts;
- worldwide search for new glasses with a colorful frame;
- complement each of your looks with such a bright stylish accessory, like a color bow tie.
Attitude towards the legalization of poker
Anatoly Filatov monitors the process of legalizing online poker in Russia, because this game is currently prohibited. This issue has long been considered in the Kremlin. The legalization of online poker can bring an additional $ 146 million to the federal budget, but legislation is still far from reaching the final result of the bill.
He mostly prefers to play at PokerStars.
Poker first steps
He studied computer science at Moscow State University, but is not good at programming. During this study in Moscow, Anatoly Filatov became interested in poker.
When he was at university, his friend suggested that he watch poker on TV. The players were wearing sunglasses and sweatshirts, this very attracted the attention of the future poker star. He really enjoyed watching the game. Soon he began to play for game money. He had no idea what he was doing, even when he had already started playing for real money. It was just a lot of fun for him, and after a while he began to pay attention to studying poker strategies.
He dreamed of playing in the World Series of Poker. After he managed to achieve this, he decided that it was time to start making money.
After he first lost a large sum of $ 4,000 to him during the game, he continued to watch videos on PokerStrategy and CardRunners, and played a lot of poker.
He was only 21 years old when he went to Las Vegas for his first real game. While his results in Las Vegas were not very successful, he was confident that he would continue to play, and ultimately achieve grandiose results in the United States.
Poker gradually became much more significant in his life than just a hobby.
Poker attitude
When asked how to characterize the Russian style of the game, he replied that when the Russians begin to bluff, they cannot stop. If the Russians hadn’t bluffed so blindly, they would have won every tournament.
He noticed that if on the eve of the games he sleeps poorly, eats, then in this not rested, tired state, he begins to make many mistakes.
The player is convinced that poker is a game for experienced people who are able to spend money and time on it. Poker is not a game for the poor, and it is not on par with the usual normal types of employment. This is a game for wealthy people who want to learn strategy. For them it is fun, and is a kind of challenge to rivals.
In the near future, he would like to expand his coaching work.
The results of Filatov, which he achieved over the years, allow him to play in the largest tournaments, but he still wisely manages his investments.
Only time will tell if Anatoly Filatov has what it takes to constantly fight the best players in the world, but at least he does not lack money and self-doubt.