Lee Davy sits down with the 2014 A$100,000 Aussie Millions Challenge winner, Yevgeniy Timoshenko, to talk finances.
Yevgeniy Timoshenko has earned over $6.8 million in live tournament earnings, and one assumes, has also earned a pretty penny in cash games as well.
He started the year as well as anybody in the world, when he topped the field in the Aussie Millions A $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) Challenge for close to $1.8 million and change.
Once you have paid your backers, gift wrapped your pieces and blown a significant portion on something nice, what happens with the rest? I guess the answer to that question depends on the type of person you are.
It depends on whether you are a saver or a spender?
“I think poker is a very high risk investment so it’s wise to have some safer investments on the side. I have some money invested in real estate and some other areas I feel are safer. Then as a poker player, I am pretty risk tolerant, so I have also invested in some riskier ventures such as start-ups and things like that,” said Timoshenko.
With so much money floating around underneath the Big Top of the poker circus, I am curious to know who the investment sharks are in the game.
“I have met some very smart people through poker. People who have definitely helped me along the way and have given me some great business advice; but if you are just looking within the poker community there are not too many people that are very knowledgeable in investing. One guy who is very smart and has a financial background is Andy Frankenberger and I have spoken about finances and investing with him. But for the most part I seek my advice outside of the poker industry.”
Does Timoshenko trust other people with his money or does he prefer to manage things himself?
“I try to learn about these things myself. In the beginning I had money managers and financial advisers, but ultimately I would like to get to the point where I can invest my own money, and make my own decisions, so I am trying to teach myself more about investing, and to figure out where I can best invest my money on my own.
“Most people are self incentivized when it comes to investing, so it’s hard to filter the good and bad advice. A lot of them are just there to make their cut and they are not bothered about wealth preservation and whether an investment is a good one or not.”
What does the future hold for Timoshenko in this regard?
“Certainly, at some point I am going to get out of poker and start a business, or manage my own business in the form of investments. As much as I love poker, I don’t want to play professionally for the rest of my life. So there will come a point when I am either going to start a business or get into investing and becoming a venture capitalist.”
What was the plan before Timoshenko got into poker?
“Before poker I wouldn’t say I had a plan. I was pretty young. I expected to do the normal things in life: go to college; get a good education and a high five figure salary. Then poker came into my life I started doing very well with it. I was doing so well I couldn’t balance school and poker, so I took a break from school to see if it would work out and fortunately it did.”
Does Timoshenko still love poker?
“I do but I need regular breaks from poker to make sure I don’t get burned out; that I stay hungry and continue to play well and be happy.”
