Daniel ’mrgr33n13’ Colman is considered one of if not the best HU SNG specialist today, leading the 2013 SNG money list with $392,296 in winnings. He is followed by Rachid Ben ‘SkaiWalkurrr’ Cherif ($242,011) and ‘mad_domonox’ ($109,618).
Daniel 'mrgr33n13' Colman
The American pro, in addition to being incredibly successful, deserves our attention due to a challenge he has recently put before himself: he aims at building a $1,250,000 profit and accumulating 5 million VPPs in 2013. It is a gargantuan task indeed but ’mrgr33n13’ already appears to do very well: standing at 947,839 VPPs at the time of the publication of our article, he might even over perform.
Colman opened the relevant thread on the 2p2 forum on 27 February:
“Sup guys, im mrgr33n13 on pokerstars and riyyc225 on ftp. I play primarily HU sngs, turbos and hypers. Been told by a few people that I should put a thread up here so here it goes.
“Going for 1.25m profit on sharkscope for mrgr33n13, but Ill be happy if I can get it between stars and FTP. I have goals of getting 5m VPP but will also settle for 4m. Right now I am up around 350k between the 2 sites on the year and already at 900k vpps. I have been fortunate to get a lot of 5k hu sng action so far which is great for my VPP goals. However, most of the 5k action is vs very good players like Ben86, Ike Haxton, Sauce, etc which always makes for a good challenge.
“I see a lot of players on here with very lofty VPP goals. They seem to all be playing 6max hypers sngs and I see that as a game where u can get burned out quickly because it doesn't take much mental stimulation once you've figured it out. I think my situation is different because as much as people think hu hyper sngs are flipping, there is a big skill element as you have to always be making quick adjustments vs the people you play and be very careful with how you are constructing your ranges. I really don't see myself getting burned out, I wake up each day itching to play and if playing hypers ever gets boring Ill make sure to challenge myself vs someone in 5ks to reignite my passion for the grind.
“Ill try to keep this updated pretty frequently and I am happy to answer most questions.
“Obligatory EV graph since 2p2 luvs EV graphs (my hem is a bit messed up and im about to switch over to PT4, some tourneys are for sure missing as im up quite a bit more then 230k)” – he wrote, attaching the promised EV graph.
Click to enlarge
Following the announcement of the challenge, HUSNG.com interviewed ’mrgr33n13’ to let readers know a little better the best of the heads-up SNG field:
When did you start playing heads up sit and gos?
My first heads up sng I played was probably when I was 14. I would deposit money on sportsbetting websites and when I didnt have action on a sports game, I often found myself drawn to the poker room and finding a heads up sng match. I did this from around age 14-17. Eventually in 2007, I took time to start playing them seriously. I got coaching and staking from livb112, but I think the biggest thing that helped me improve was my ambition. There was never anyone who I didnt want to play. If someone was better then me, I wanted to play them until I could beat them. I didnt care for playing fish, I knew I could beat them. I wanted to play the people that I was unsure if I could beat them or not. This obviously hurt my profitability, but I dont think I could exist in poker without challenging myself in that way.
So that is why you enjoy playing regs. Why have you been so profitable against them?
Yes, I've always enjoyed playing regs just because it gives you action and its a bit of a challenge. Some of these regs have made most of their profit playing against recreational players. I feel their ranges have suffered because of that which leads them to be unbalanced in a lot of different spots.
What do you think about edge in hypers, lots of people seem to think there's no edge when regs play each other, but players like you, serkules, skaiwalkurrr and plenty of others seem to defy that. What do you think about or what do you have to say to a $200 regular that says there's no edge in regs facing each other?
I think for sure there is an edge to be had vs anyone. A strategy exists that can beat the very best player right now at a fairly high winrate before rake. For your long term survival in this game, it will be neccessary to work towards finding out that strategy.
How do you decide on whether or not to play someone? What happens if someone you don't want to play sits you in 1ks and won't stop sitting you?
The people I do not sit or get sat by, is either out of friendship or sharing lobbys being mutually beneficial to each other. If someone I dont want to play sits me and wont stop sitting me, I guess that means I will have to try and work hard to improve until that will no longer be the case.
Are you a believer/participant in a sort of "cartel" of players that discourages new regs from moving up and sitting high stakes games?
No comment.
What's the trait that helps you most in husngs?
I think its my passion. I dont think any of the other regs enjoy it as much as I do. As much as playing against recreational players is enjoyable, it can be a pretty montonous grind. It is important for me to always challenge myself and play against very tough opponents to keep me thinking about the game in new ways and always working to improve. The last thing I would ever want to happen is plateau.
Who are the top 5 hyper players today?
In no particular order; skaiwalkurrr, helio, lotte lenya, serkules, fisfarfar, piggy, jossel, killuifiplay, harthor, me
Do you play any other formats? What do you like about them?
Yes, heads up cash and turbo and non turbo heads up sngs. 4-6 tabling someone in each of those is definitely my favorite way to play poker. It just feels so pure, the way poker was meant to be played.
Ever watch any poker videos?
I think I watched some cardrunners videos when first getting into playing online tournaments.
Do you bet sports of play casino games at all?
Very rarely and never for an amount that it could sting to lose.
Any fun poker or gambling related stories to share?
I made a basketball propbet with a poker player (not going to name names) where I got laid 3:2 odds. It was best of 7, 1 on 1, each game up to 11. It was my 25k to win 37.5k. The game was to be played in Vegas at UNLV rec center at 2pm. This was at the start of the WSOP, but I wasnt 21 yet so I was still at home in Boston. Instead of flying out to Vegas a day before and resting up, I picked the cheapest flight that left Boston at 6 in the morning, had a layover in charlotte N.C. , and arrived in Vegas at 1:15. By the time I got to the UNLV rec center I felt like complete shit, but I still managed to win the bet and go on to win another 7.5k playing HORSE.
Daniel 'mrgr33n13' Colman
The American pro, in addition to being incredibly successful, deserves our attention due to a challenge he has recently put before himself: he aims at building a $1,250,000 profit and accumulating 5 million VPPs in 2013. It is a gargantuan task indeed but ’mrgr33n13’ already appears to do very well: standing at 947,839 VPPs at the time of the publication of our article, he might even over perform.
Colman opened the relevant thread on the 2p2 forum on 27 February:
“Sup guys, im mrgr33n13 on pokerstars and riyyc225 on ftp. I play primarily HU sngs, turbos and hypers. Been told by a few people that I should put a thread up here so here it goes.
“Going for 1.25m profit on sharkscope for mrgr33n13, but Ill be happy if I can get it between stars and FTP. I have goals of getting 5m VPP but will also settle for 4m. Right now I am up around 350k between the 2 sites on the year and already at 900k vpps. I have been fortunate to get a lot of 5k hu sng action so far which is great for my VPP goals. However, most of the 5k action is vs very good players like Ben86, Ike Haxton, Sauce, etc which always makes for a good challenge.
“I see a lot of players on here with very lofty VPP goals. They seem to all be playing 6max hypers sngs and I see that as a game where u can get burned out quickly because it doesn't take much mental stimulation once you've figured it out. I think my situation is different because as much as people think hu hyper sngs are flipping, there is a big skill element as you have to always be making quick adjustments vs the people you play and be very careful with how you are constructing your ranges. I really don't see myself getting burned out, I wake up each day itching to play and if playing hypers ever gets boring Ill make sure to challenge myself vs someone in 5ks to reignite my passion for the grind.
“Ill try to keep this updated pretty frequently and I am happy to answer most questions.
“Obligatory EV graph since 2p2 luvs EV graphs (my hem is a bit messed up and im about to switch over to PT4, some tourneys are for sure missing as im up quite a bit more then 230k)” – he wrote, attaching the promised EV graph.
Click to enlarge
Following the announcement of the challenge, HUSNG.com interviewed ’mrgr33n13’ to let readers know a little better the best of the heads-up SNG field:
When did you start playing heads up sit and gos?
My first heads up sng I played was probably when I was 14. I would deposit money on sportsbetting websites and when I didnt have action on a sports game, I often found myself drawn to the poker room and finding a heads up sng match. I did this from around age 14-17. Eventually in 2007, I took time to start playing them seriously. I got coaching and staking from livb112, but I think the biggest thing that helped me improve was my ambition. There was never anyone who I didnt want to play. If someone was better then me, I wanted to play them until I could beat them. I didnt care for playing fish, I knew I could beat them. I wanted to play the people that I was unsure if I could beat them or not. This obviously hurt my profitability, but I dont think I could exist in poker without challenging myself in that way.
So that is why you enjoy playing regs. Why have you been so profitable against them?
Yes, I've always enjoyed playing regs just because it gives you action and its a bit of a challenge. Some of these regs have made most of their profit playing against recreational players. I feel their ranges have suffered because of that which leads them to be unbalanced in a lot of different spots.
What do you think about edge in hypers, lots of people seem to think there's no edge when regs play each other, but players like you, serkules, skaiwalkurrr and plenty of others seem to defy that. What do you think about or what do you have to say to a $200 regular that says there's no edge in regs facing each other?
I think for sure there is an edge to be had vs anyone. A strategy exists that can beat the very best player right now at a fairly high winrate before rake. For your long term survival in this game, it will be neccessary to work towards finding out that strategy.
How do you decide on whether or not to play someone? What happens if someone you don't want to play sits you in 1ks and won't stop sitting you?
The people I do not sit or get sat by, is either out of friendship or sharing lobbys being mutually beneficial to each other. If someone I dont want to play sits me and wont stop sitting me, I guess that means I will have to try and work hard to improve until that will no longer be the case.
Are you a believer/participant in a sort of "cartel" of players that discourages new regs from moving up and sitting high stakes games?
No comment.
What's the trait that helps you most in husngs?
I think its my passion. I dont think any of the other regs enjoy it as much as I do. As much as playing against recreational players is enjoyable, it can be a pretty montonous grind. It is important for me to always challenge myself and play against very tough opponents to keep me thinking about the game in new ways and always working to improve. The last thing I would ever want to happen is plateau.
Who are the top 5 hyper players today?
In no particular order; skaiwalkurrr, helio, lotte lenya, serkules, fisfarfar, piggy, jossel, killuifiplay, harthor, me
Do you play any other formats? What do you like about them?
Yes, heads up cash and turbo and non turbo heads up sngs. 4-6 tabling someone in each of those is definitely my favorite way to play poker. It just feels so pure, the way poker was meant to be played.
Ever watch any poker videos?
I think I watched some cardrunners videos when first getting into playing online tournaments.
Do you bet sports of play casino games at all?
Very rarely and never for an amount that it could sting to lose.
Any fun poker or gambling related stories to share?
I made a basketball propbet with a poker player (not going to name names) where I got laid 3:2 odds. It was best of 7, 1 on 1, each game up to 11. It was my 25k to win 37.5k. The game was to be played in Vegas at UNLV rec center at 2pm. This was at the start of the WSOP, but I wasnt 21 yet so I was still at home in Boston. Instead of flying out to Vegas a day before and resting up, I picked the cheapest flight that left Boston at 6 in the morning, had a layover in charlotte N.C. , and arrived in Vegas at 1:15. By the time I got to the UNLV rec center I felt like complete shit, but I still managed to win the bet and go on to win another 7.5k playing HORSE.
