GPInterview: ElkY | Winning With Style

He’s a man that needs no introduction. Known to most in the poker world as ElkY, Bertrand Grospellier (GPI#10) has been at or near the top of the poker charts for years now.

ElkY is also well known for dressing up at the poker table, choosing to look good while picking up his numerous big scores all over the world on the live tournament circuit.

The PokerStars Team Pro recently visited Macau to play the GuangDong Asia Millions (GDAM) where he final tabled the Warm-Up event and final tabled Event #19 just hours after returning to the World Series of Poker.

We met up with ElkY to see how things were going:

ElkY, how has your WSOP gone so far?

Not so bad. I missed one week to go to Macau to play the GDAM. I’ve made one final table so far, it was disappointing not to win but it’s not bad since I’ve only played six or seven events.

The most important of the Series is now coming up with all the great events so I hope to do even better.

You bring up GDAM, first of all, how was your experience in Macau?

I think Macau is the future for poker, the game is still new there, and it’s really exploding. The people there, they really like to gamble, although they tend to play more of a turbo style, hopefully I will be back there a lot.

You were in Las Vegas, then flew to Macau and came straight back here to conclude your WSOP trip, with so much travel in so little time, how do you ensure that it doesn’t affect your game?

Travelling is tiring but fortunately I don’t usually get jetlagged. Usually after one good night of sleep, I’m pretty good. Plus I’m able to sleep on the plane.

The second event I played in when I came back from GDAM I final tabled so that’s pretty good!

You’ve talked about swings before. You’re a very successful poker player, how do you handle swings when you don’t get a W for a while?

It’s always hard. Although it gets a little easier when you gain experience, it’s always tough. Because it’s so hard to win, you appreciate more when you do win.

Personally, it’s good to have balance in life and have other interests. Spending time with your friends helps a lot. If you only have poker in your life helps when things aren’t going so well.

You’re very much into fashion – you always make sure you’re looking good at the poker table … first of all, in general, how would you rate the typical “poker player look” at the tables?

I would give them a 2 out of 10 … especially here at the Rio during the World Series; it’s probably the worst of all.

Do you have a passion for the world of fashion, why do you choose to dress up during events?

I like to look good and comfortable. I really feel uncomfortable when I look bad or I have to wear something that I’m forced to wear. I like to take care of my image, I like to wear different styles everyday, I kind of like to standout a little bit.

You can follow ElkY on Twitter at @elkypoker

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