In the first exclusive Poker Republika interview, we present you Alexander Stević, one of the top 5 poker pros related to former Yugoslavia region.

PR: Where did you grew up and how are you related to Serbia?

AS: I grew up in Gothenburg, Sweden. My mother is Swedish, and my father is Serbian. I have 2 sisters, Diana and Mikaela, that later lived in Belgrade. I'm the oldest. We went to Serbia every Summer my whole childhood, to a small village in Kosovo.

PR: How did you first started playing poker and how old were you when you started playing?

AS: That Kosovo village is also where i played poker for money for the first time in my life. Me, my cousin and 3 other guys. We were around 12-14 years old. Exept the gypsie boy, he was around 8-9 years old and already smoking ciggarets. That's how it started anyway. I loved it and I didn't want to do anything else for the rest off that summer.

PR: How long have you been playing poker professionally, what was the start like and what made you think you could do this for a living?

AS: When I was 21, I started playing in pokerclubs in Gothenburg, mostly with Arabs, Ex-Yugos, Albanians and some lost Swedes. This I did for 5 years, while I was working different jobs to get money for playing. I was not a winner during this time - it was very difficult in the clubs because the rake was so high, and also it could be difficult to leave the game if you were winning big.
When I was 26, I started playing online poker, that's like 8 years ago. At that time, I could start living on my pokerskills. The rake was small and you could quit when ever you wanted. I realized quickly that it was very easy to win online, and that i had a talent for it, so I guess that I became a pro 8 years ago. I stopped working after 2 weeks and have never worked a day since then.
I wasn't sure at the begining that i could do this for a living, but I wanted to give it a chance. It had been my dream to become a pokerplayer since I was very young. My father played poker during my childhood, maybe i just wanted to be like him, I don't know.

PR: Is there any difference between poker today and poker ten years ago?

AS: Uh, there is so much difference. Poker has change a lot since then. First off all, it's less dangerous. You don't have to play in ugly and strange places, because today all major casinos in the world offers poker games. So it has become more accepted and open for normal people, not only sick gamblers and gangsters.
Secondly, poker players today in general are so much better then they used to be 10 years ago. Now you have so much informations about poker - books, magazines, computer softwares, poker forums and so on.
Also, today by playing online you get a lot of experience very quicky, because you can play so many hands every hour. Back then, it was so different.
Ten years ago you couldn't see poker at TV, and I think that this is the best thing that happened to poker! It made it popular, and since it became accepted, a lot of normal people with big money started playing.
It sounds strange, but before TV, the best thing for poker was cocaine. The drug dealers very often liked to play poker, and they always had a lot of cash on them! But that's small money if you compare to the business people today. They enter the casinos and say they just want to blow off some steam and energy!

PR: Do you prefer cash game or tournament?

AS: I prefer cash game to tourneys, because I'm better at cash games. Also, in cash game there is less luck involved. But there is nothing more fun and intresting than when you're in the very late stage of a big tourney...

PR: Do you play more in casinos or online? How much time do you spend playing online?

AS: I'm much more of a live player. I almost never play online anymore, because there are so many temptations all the time that can easily make you go broke. For exp. I always want to play higher games when I'm winning, and I never want to stop.
I still think online poker is great, but you need a lot of dicipline, and I don't have it. I used to play up to 80 houres per week online, 5-6 years ago - it was more or less the only thing I did.

PR: What were your best and worst moments in poker?

AS: My best memory so far in my poker career is when I won my first title in Barcelona, it was the first EPT ever!
My worst was 5-6 months after EPT, when I logged in to 1 account online after a big party (I was very drunk), and i lost $106.000. I didn't even remember it the day after, the memory came back when i logged in to the account. That is one of the problems with online poker people (like me), who don't have discipline - very often they go broke.

PR: Do you have good friends among poker players?

AS: I have a lot of friends in my life, it has always been like that. In last 8 years, I met a lot of people in poker. Some of them are very close to me now, and most people I hang out with nowadays are pokerplayers. I think it's easier in some way. We are very much the same, and it's good to have many good poker friends when you're running bad, because you can't always go to your "normal" friends and ask them for cash. When zou go broke other poker players help more, because they know that one day they could easily find themselves in the same situation and might also need help.

PR: Do you have any poker idol and are there any players who have influenced your game?

AS: I don't know if I have any real poker idol, I never thought about it in that way, but I do know is that I really want the people who are like me to win. That means talented players, but without dicipline, for exp. Gus Hansen, Illari "Ziiigmund" Sahamies, Stu Ungar and so on. Off course, these guys have more talent than me. (LOL)

PR: What characteristics do you believe a player needs to be the best?

AS: I believe that there are many different things that makes some one good in poker - streetsmart, good at judging people, mathematics, discipline, fantasy, and many more things. Today skill and talent are not enough. You need discipline, for exp. don't play when you're losing, don't throw away you're money when you're on tilt, etc... Also, you need a good table selection. Why play with the best when there are so many fishes out there!

PR: Are you satisfied with your game and is there anything that you want to improve?

AS: I always had a lot of talent, but zero discipline. I always wanted to play as big as I could, and with the best players. I didn't care so much when I lose in the game with them, because backthen it was so easy to win back the money by playing online with all the fishes. That has changed. It's not that easy anymore.
Now I have finaly changed. I am much more disciplined now, I don't look for the biggest game I can play and I don't tilt anymore. I know people with much less talent then me, but with much bigger bankroll then mine today. They always did "the right" thing.

PR: How do you feel about that?

AS: I admit I'm a bit jealaouse, but they are also more boring people then me! They didn't do all the crazy things I did. I stayed at the best hotels, ate in the best restaurants, and I always had the best tables in the best nightclubs and discoteques all around the world. I spent my money like I was a billionaire, which I was not off course, but I don't regret any off that. Still, I will not do it all over again. Now I want to save and build a normal life, or at least as normal as possible for a pokerpro with zero dicipline(LOL).

PR: What do you think about the idea of Poker Republika portal, and why is it important for the poker in this region?

AS: When I heard about Poker Republika, I knew it was a great idea, because portals like this are needed in all regions around the world. Players in ex-Yugoslavia need this kind of poker portal, because they need to get together, to have as many informations and news as possible, to became educated and introduced to poker, etc... I can see that they can get everything on Poker Republika. Good for you.
Also, poker needs forums where people can meet online to talk, change ideas and information, and get toghether. I hope Poker Republika Forum will give them the chance to do that.
It's always good to get organized.

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