Maxim Lykov is a professional poker player from Russia. Online known under the nicknames "KaKeTKa", "justdec", "Decay" and "Maxim Lykov". Included in the top ten players of the Russian Federation. This article will describe his brief biography.
Interest in poker
Maxim Lykov was born in Balashikha (Moscow region) in 1987. As a child, the boy actively played football and, quite possibly, could have made a professional career. But in his youth, Maxim had a new hobby - computer games. Lykov’s talent manifested itself almost immediately, and he became a famous cybersportsman in Moscow.
And Maxim met poker in his student years. The young man had no desire to spend his own money on this lesson. Therefore, he played exclusively freerolls, without replenishing his account in the poker room. In one of them, Lykov won $ 20.
Training
Realizing that poker can make money, Maxim Lykov began to increase his own level of the game. The young man read books, educational articles and attended thematic forums. As a specialization, he chose Texas Hold'em. Then Maxim played online for several years in a row, periodically dropping into Moscow casinos. The hero of this article also set a record for wins among Russian players. Taking 2nd place in the FTOPS online tournament (Full Tilt poker room), he replenished his bankroll with $ 362,500.
It is worth noting that Maxim gave most of this money to backer Sergei Rybachenko. The latter sponsored at that time many Russian players. However, the bankroll of the hero of this article still grew several times.
Hard time
Soon Maxim Lykov, whose photo periodically appears on the pages of poker publications, spent most of his money on solving current problems and buying an apartment. A difficult period has come in the life of a young man. Indeed, just yesterday he played at high stakes, where his current bankroll was equal to the size of the bank in one hand.
Lykov decided to re-start climbing the limits. He borrowed $ 10,000 from a friend and started playing. Maxim spent hours analyzing his distributions to rule out errors. Since the bankroll was small, the young man focused on MTT competitions. Lykov played about 15-20 tournaments a day. This made it possible to quickly save up money and return to high limits.
Career takeoff
In 2009, Maxim Lykov began to actively participate in live poker competitions. From the very first games, he showed very good results. For example, winning the Red Sea Poker Cup tournament, the young man earned $ 69,797. Soon, Lykov joined the JokerTeam team and went to the WSOP. There, Maxim took third place and received a little more than $ 145,000.
The following years became a bright streak in the player’s career. Lykov either took first places or entered prizes. In 2011, at the WSOP, Maxim submitted to two competitions. In the $ 1,333 buy-in competition, he took 2nd place and also won the tournament with a contribution of $ 1,000. The total prize amount was almost a million dollars.
In 2012, the hero of this article decided to take a break from poker and left for four months with his wife in Thailand. Nevertheless, Lykov periodically played online, where he won in major tournaments. Offline trips were also successful: Maxim got to the 3 EPT final tables: in Monte Carlo, Berlin and Vienna. Unfortunately, the young man failed to get to the WSOP in 2012, as employees of the American embassy lost his passport. The last few years, the hero of this article rarely participates in tournaments, but steadily gets them in prizes.
Play style
Maxim Lykov, whose biography is known to all Russian poker fans, is notable for its assertiveness and aggressiveness. But at the same time, each young man considers each draw individually. Strengths of Maxim are tilt resistance, perseverance and self-discipline. Lykov follows the careers of the best foreign and Russian players, trying to learn something new from them.
Interesting Facts
- 5 victories in live tournaments.
- 10 years of poker experience.
- 1 gold WSOP bracelet.
- 12,000 online tournaments.
- Over $ 4,000,000 in prize money.