Introducing HU SNG Master PrimordialAA

Bryan "PrimordialAA" Pellegrino recently concluded a deep run in the 2010 WSOP Main Event, finishing 143rd for $57,102. His first video for CardRunners focuses on the $55 HU SNGs, which is lower than his normal stakes.  He is known for making prop bets, and his latest must be concluded by August 15th (2p2 thread here).  He resides in New Hampshire with his wife and bulldogs.

How did you get started in poker?

When I was about 15 and a half I went to DC for a week for some school thing
(Presidentials Classroom), and while there the kid I roomed with showed me the game. We played some small games the week there, and I ended up winning like $60ish, which I used to buy a Georgetown hoodie (first thing I ever bought with poker money, I still have it today). When we were leaving he told me about this online website you could play on,
Pokerstars.com, and so when I got back I started right away, and have been playing ever
since.

What would you be doing if you weren't playing poker professionally?

I'd almost certainly be programming, probably for a telcom company.

Tell us about your most recent prop bet?

I put up 10k to Skate's 20k. I have to play 2,000 HU SNGs at $350+5, $500+6 and $1,000 +11 by August 15th and finish with a 3% ROI or higher.

I've seen some threads about prop bets you've done in the past -- do they motivate you
in a specific way?

They get me to force myself to get in a lot of volume, and I find that a lot of other
players dont do well putting in volume.  Even though its mostly for
fun, I have a decent edge to win the side bet. That combined with the motivation for
higher volume makes them a good idea for me.

What stakes are you currently playing online?

In 2010 my average stake has been around $440 or so, I usually sit anything from the
220s to the 1100s, and have been taking shots (unsuccessfully unfortunately) at 2ks and
5ks all year. However this month for the prop my avg stake is a bit lower cause im just
trying to get in a ton of volume, probably around $290-300.

How do you choose which live tournaments to play?

I mostly just follow the live HU Tournaments. I'm out there in Vegas for the whole WSOP,
and spent 3 months in Europe last year playing a couple of the HU tourneys around. So
usually if there is a live HU tourney for more than $5k im trying to get to it.

Do you play HU cash or only tournaments?

Pretty much only HU SNGs, I never really got into cash. I wanted to, and planned on it for about 2-3 yrs now, but I got married, got a house, etc., and my desire for a consistant income means I havent branched out as much as I would have liked. I play mixed games and non-NL cash, but I guess with NLHE, HU SNGs and live MTTs are all I've really focused on.

How many events did you play this summer?

10

Do you always play the Main Event?

Last year was my first year playing any WSOP events, i'll definitely be playing the Main every year, basically forever, it's just a great great event!

What was the Main Event like for you this year?

To be honest I didn't really have that many tough spots, I think the thing I did best was adjusting to my tables. In such a deep structure you have a ton of time to wait for great spots, so at passive tables I just ran the whole table over, and then on aggro tables I did a really good job (IMO) on not trying to out-aggro other decent players, I just kind of chilled out and waited to pick good spots.  I actually ran pretty terribly overall this series, I was 2/10 in all ins, and the only all ins I won were on day 1 and day 4.

The one on day 1 was a pretty important hand, because it was for a big portion of my stack. There was a middle aged guy who was playing pretty aggro, 3betting a decent amount, and a bit earlier in the day he 3bet me and knew I was frustrated and then got to showdown w/ A7o. So I thought he thought I was going to 4bet him pretty light, so I waited about 2 hours, and picked up QQ, I raise, he 3bets, I 4bet pretty quickly from 3100 -> 8400 or so, and he pretty quickly jams his whole stack of 40k (I had about 45-50k at this point). I snapped him and held v. his 99. This is a spot I don't want to get into on day 1, because we're still really deep. Versus a lot of people I would never 4bet there, but I just knew he was waiting to spazz out, and let him.

The only other all in I won was on day 4 when I had a guy who was pretty deep (bout 100-125bbs) 3bet me big-ish, and I snap-jammed AA. He tanked for 2 minutes and called with AKo, so one I expect to win, but it was a huge hand blinds wise and put me in really good shape going into day 5.

I had a REALLY REALLY tough table draw on day 5, when we went to the 2nd feature table. It was just the most absurd table I've ever been at, 4-6 hands every orbit were 3bet or 4bet, really aggro, no real weak players at all, and unfortunately it was right after I lost a 1.6M cooler (I flopped a set of 3s and AA turned a set), so I had a stack I couldn't really mess around with too much. I had to kind of sit back and pick good spots and wait for a new table draw, and it ended up working out OK (except for when A5 binked on my AT).

How did you relax in between days?

Well when we had actual days between the tournaments I went out to dinner w/ friends, and played a couple of sessions for my prop bet even though my roommates all kept telling me that was a terrible idea.

Do you have any pre-tournament traditions or superstitions?

I don't typically, but this time, throughout the ME, we made sure to go to Mon Ami Gabi (in the Paris) for breakfast every morning, and sit at the same table and order the same thing: fresh fruit salad (banana, strawberries, and grapes) with yogurt, and a ham & cheese crepe w/egg, and we only started that because we did it day 1 and all 3 of us made it to day 2.

What's next for you?

Well first off I'm gonna finish the prop bet I'm in now, not sure as far as a new one after that, I'll see what happens. For live events I have EPT Barcelona coming up, and PCA in January now that I got a package for cashing, and not sure other than that. I usually just pick spots I'd like to travel to and plan a trip around it.

I noticed your prop bet ends a week after your wedding, what about a honeymoon?

Well, since we've already been married for a bit now and it's just more of a celebration, the wife didn't want a honeymoon. She says she's sick of traveling atm, so we'll probably do a delayed one. I'd like to do Hawaii or Greek Isles.

What have been the major goals you've set for yourself in poker? For any that you've
achieved, describe how and when you achieved them.

Really I try not to set too many short term goals. I try to set goals that aren't
too results-oriented, so most of my goals are volume based, on a monthly basis, and then
monetarily for the year. Last year I wanted to make 150-200ish, and ended up making a bit more, so that was a really big milestone for me. Finally getting a house was a big goal
outside of poker, so I'm really happy with that as well. And now it's just having another
good year, and hopefully eventually taking down one of the circuit MTTs.

What can CR members expect from your videos?

Hopefully a good solid foundation for becoming a winning player, I feel I can
explain my thoughts clearly, and can give reasoning for all of my decisions,
so the hope is that it transitions to members making clear, thoughtful decisions and adapting vs every type of opponent.

Describe some of your poker habits that do not directly concern the play of the cards.  

The HS HU SNG community isnt that large, and I talk to almost every regular playing
$220s+, and a lot of the ones playing $550s+. We talk on an almost daily basis, and I live with many of them during the WSOP, so discussing strategy with other like-minded/solid
players is my main way of studying the game. That and internal thinking/contemplating
spots, etc.

As for my poker habits, I'm pretty flexible, I have the day to myself mostly while the wife is at work, so I just get up at 10-noon, and play on and off until about 2amish most days. I try to keep my sessions to about 2-3 hours and not too much longer, to break it up throughout the day and keep myself fresh and playing well, but it doesnt always work out, cause im kind of known for putting in 12+ hour sessions at times.

What major non-poker projects do you have in your life?

Not much at the moment, I play alot of video games and watch alot of movies, travel a
ton, and other than that just hang out with my 2 bulldogs and my wife :).

Do you listen to music or watch tv while you play? If so, what?

I listen to music a lot and try not to watch TV but occasionally I'll watch TV shows on the computer. As for what I listen to, a pretty broad range, I listen to a ton of different music, but my grinding music lately has been:

Evans Blue - The Melody and the Energetic Nature of Volume (album)

La Roux - La Roux (album)

Alexisonfire - all 3 albums

and Tiesto - In Search of Sunrise 6 (album)

Favorite:

book? Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series

movie? A ton of them, I love movies and some of my favorites are
Gladiator, Office Space, Half Baked, The Rock, Braveheart, and 28 Days Later.

food? I get on a lot of different food-crazes, before I used to be really into Indian
food, lately it's been a local Japanese hibachi/sushi place that I cant get enough of.

place you've traveled? Easily, hands down, Cyprus (the Turkish side), although I did
really love my time living in Budapest, and enjoy that city a lot as well.