Federico Martín Bellón
Updated Tuesday, February 20, 2024-23:34
What Leo Margets
likes most
is playing sports and observing others, x-raying their souls, but also herself. "I don't know how long I'll remain attractive as a product," he diagnoses coldly. Born in Barcelona in 1983, she seemed oriented towards economics and business management, until she began to feel fascinated by human behavior, she discovered poker and saw that the tables were an even more fruitful and fun ecosystem. She is the only Spaniard with a bracelet from the Las Vegas World Series. This interview takes place in Torrelodones, just before a tournament.
For a decade and a half, Margets has been the queen of poker in Spain. She has been the face of all the large venues that have operated in our country and since 2018 she has been a member of the Winamax professional team, which also includes the presence of
Adrián Mateos
, the most successful Spaniard. There are many well-known men in the world of playing cards, but she is more alone and does not know if she has a successor or an expiration date.
To know more
Interview.
Adrián Mateos, the king of poker who has already won almost 40 million euros: "The risk of ruin I have is zero"
Editor: FEDERICO MARÍN BELLÓN
Adrián Mateos, the king of poker who has already won almost 40 million euros: "The risk of ruin I have is zero"
«I just had lunch with Adri and I told him that I am very aware of my profile. I have always said that being a girl has helped me. I consider myself super-valid and a gamer, but that has opened up opportunities for me with sponsorships, for example. Adri is evergreen, but I don't know how long I will continue to be attractive as a product, what will happen in 10 years, when she is 50. I consider it, but it doesn't worry me that much. If I'm still hungry, I'll keep playing poker. Having sponsorship helps a lot, but the real issue is hunger. "I wouldn't want to play just to play."
Do you still dedicate the same time to studying or do you let yourself go after a certain age and level? I dedicate even more, it's the other way around. In the last four or five years is when I have gotten into poker the most, because I realize that until now I always tried to have a plan B, but all that is background noise. I really like poker, even the way of training. When I play sports it is to perform better at the tables. I like it and it fills me up. As long as that's the case, I'll keep putting the fifth in poker. On the other hand, it has not stopped diversifying. One of the things that has made him best known is his collaboration with
Jordi Wilde
. That has been a kind of massive exposure. My goal has never been to have recognition, but it has caused me to go from being a well-known girl in the world of poker to reaching a much wider audience. You are also most recognized for your time in 'Survivors' and 'Traitors'. Without a doubt, the coolest was the last one. I enjoyed it. The players knew you, but do you notice greater appreciation from the rest of the public? Yes, I think people perceive me as smart and that the script twist delighted everyone. These exhibitions have helped me feel much more loved, because people know me better. Although there are also those who have seen me as a diva and I am zero diva. You've known me since I was young and I've never been one. If we go to that Leo who was starting out, if he could play against her, would he win her game? I beat her up! Is what you know now more important than the energy and enthusiasm of youth? I have something very good: with pressure I grow. I work a lot, but I have played at tables where I am not the best technically, because if I study three hours a day, they study six, but in the end poker is much more. There is a technical part and there is another part of 'flow' of the table, of being aware of how others perceive you. That is the most important. At a table, in a tournament, in almost everything, being aware of how others perceive you is almost the most important thing. And do you deliberately cause yourself to be seen in the wrong way? Yes, but people are not assholes, either You can get too smart.
Leo Margets.WORLD
People also don't know what was more valuable, qualifying as the first woman in the main tournament of the 2009 World Series or winning a bracelet and being the absolute winner in 2021. I love the question. On a personal level, I'll definitely take the bracelet, but being
The Last Woman Standing
It changed everything, although I already wanted to take away that title, to be world champion without being one. I know it's very long to say that I was the last woman or the 27th in the world championship, but on top of that they give you a drink and I felt like an imposter. I always tried to clarify it, but in the end you are also very annoying when cutting people on the programs. Why are there so few women in the world of playing cards? The industry has done everything it can to attract that half of the population. The only barrier is that women like poker less than men. It is true that some girls may feel that the environment is a little hostile, but it can also happen to anyone who is just starting out, because at the table you must know how to resist pressure and apply it yourself. It is a fundamental characteristic of poker. Risk is also something that innately attracts men more, which does not mean that there are women who are very good at it. I would be worried if there were no equality when it comes to accessing the activity. There are fools everywhere. Is the average equal at the tables? I think the average for fools is lower. Poker puts you in your place a lot, even more so in high-level tournaments. People are very intelligent, they judge less in general and have more capacity for critical thinking. Did you have any family dislike for your profession? At first my parents didn't celebrate it so much, because I had a stable job in a multinational, in a good position sports marketing. People who love you always try to recommend the safest option, I think wrongly. Not accepting changes is sometimes much riskier; Poker also teaches you that. Then, I did well from the beginning, they saw me happy and supported me. My parents are superfans. Sometimes I jokingly tell them that if I hadn't done so well, perhaps their support would have been different. Looking back, would you change anything about your career? It's very easy to regret it with the information you have now. It's a very difficult question, because I don't know where to draw the line. I think I've always been a pretty good decision maker. Not all of them would be good. I would have taken poker as seriously as I do from the beginning. Without wishing to mortify you, do you ever think that you could have used your intelligence and talent in more "profitable" activities? I have not had the typical existential crisis that many players suffer. There are other rational ways to dignify what you do. Your life is not empty either, because it is not just work. I never talk about the places where I donate money or the things I collaborate with, but I do quite a few and it fills me up. Then, I am also selfish, because as long as my work fulfills me, it satisfies me. Don't you care what other people think? Those I love matter too much to me, but I don't care what those I don't love think. Obviously,It feels good almost on a physical level when they give you a compliment and it feels bad when they say something bad to you, but always with a great distance. These are people who don't know you, who project an image. Hateful comments affect me zero, or 0.1. For years, I was one of the few national poker figures who remained in Spain. Why did you end up going to Andorra? I had tried to go to Andorra years ago, but my partner couldn't work abroad and I decided I would stay, because it was worth it. It was a conscious decision, but in April I separated and needed a change of scenery. In Andorra there is a very large poker community and at that vital moment it was good for me. I arrived very excited, but in phase two I thought: seriously? what do I do here? Now I am more settled or in that process, very comfortable. Travel is the worst. Have you been criticized a lot about taxes? Someone. If I had gone to Sweden or England, no one would say anything. How heavy! In England they would also talk, since Brexit, but in my life I have paid more taxes than almost all of them. In general, I have received more encouragement. It is also a way of saying: "In Spain you make it very difficult." It's demotivating. There are people who prefer not to work anymore because it is no longer profitable for them to earn more. Spain is no longer a context in which I want to contribute. It's a hell of a country, but our sector is different. If there were normal taxation, everyone would stay, those in England and Andorra and elsewhere. How long do you imagine there? Forever, even. Why not? The word always overwhelms me a little, but it is not a different approach than the one I had in Barcelona. I'll be there until I'm comfortable. I'm not going with the mentality of kneading dough for five years and then coming back. To see what lasts. Andorra is a bit claustrophobic, physically and socially. It has very good things and I love nature, but I also like to see new faces. It's the feeling of having to speak quietly in bars, but you have people who are worth it and it makes up for it.since Brexit, but I have paid more taxes than almost all of them in my life. In general, I have received more encouragement. It is also a way of saying: "In Spain you make it very difficult." It's demotivating. There are people who prefer not to work anymore because it is no longer profitable for them to earn more. Spain is no longer a context in which I want to contribute. It's a hell of a country, but our sector is different. If there were normal taxation, everyone would stay, those in England and Andorra and elsewhere. How long do you imagine there? Forever, even. Why not? The word always overwhelms me a little, but it is not a different approach than the one I had in Barcelona. I'll be there until I'm comfortable. I'm not going with the mentality of kneading dough for five years and then coming back. To see what lasts. Andorra is a bit claustrophobic, physically and socially. It has very good things and I love nature, but I also like to see new faces. It's the feeling of having to speak quietly in bars, but you have people who are worth it and it makes up for it.since Brexit, but I have paid more taxes than almost all of them in my life. In general, I have received more encouragement. It is also a way of saying: "In Spain you make it very difficult." It's demotivating. There are people who prefer not to work anymore because it is no longer profitable for them to earn more. Spain is no longer a context in which I want to contribute. It's a hell of a country, but our sector is different. If there were normal taxation, everyone would stay, those in England and Andorra and elsewhere. How long do you imagine there? Forever, even. Why not? The word always overwhelms me a little, but it is not a different approach than the one I had in Barcelona. I'll be there until I'm comfortable. I'm not going with the mentality of kneading dough for five years and then coming back. To see what lasts. Andorra is a bit claustrophobic, physically and socially. It has very good things and I love nature, but I also like to see new faces. It's the feeling of having to speak quietly in bars, but you have people who are worth it and it makes up for it.