Yuval Bronshtein AKA yuvee04

Who the hell is this yuvee04 guy?- just one of those forum threads I stumbled upon about three-time Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) winner Yuval Bronshtein “yuvee04″. He won two of those FTOPS two times in one night! On 13 August ‘08 he entered the $500 + $35 HORSE tournament and the $200 + $16 No Limit Hold ‘em Turbo tournament and collected more than $172,000 by winning both. Ok, who is this guy? Well, we’re the first one to have had the opportunity to conduct an interview with Yuval, so find out now about his way of playing, how he mastered the game and which poker players he admires.

Yuval Bronshtein was born in Israel and moved to Atlanta, Georgia at the age of 5. He started playing poker in college. Yuval Bronshtein: “My friends taught me how to play basic poker during my first two years in college. None of them were real poker players and soon I was dominating the games we were playing. I pretty much branched off and taught myself how to play, from watching it on TV and playing free poker tournaments at local bars and restaurants.” At one point he decided to put some real money on an account at Bodog, an online poker room, and started collecting money at the Limit Hold ‘em poker tables.

Yuval is known for his skills in a variety of poker games; he plays Razz, Seven Card Stud, (No) Limit Hold ‘em and, according to many, he’s pretty good at it. Many players on forums have much appreciation of his way of playing. “Jennifear” confirms: “I’ve played him on the razz tables and he destroyed me with a sick read. Left the table and avoided him ever since. Hell of a player.” His two FTOPS winnings were a great experience for Yuval. Horsepokerblog.com: How did you manage to win those FTOPS events in one night? Yuval Bronshtein: “I played well and was able to obtain lots of chips, playing ultra aggressively and very confidently. When I made the final table I had lots of momentum and it carried me. I didn’t make any mistakes, and made some very good decisions that paid off for me.” Horsepokerblog.com: “What did you do when you won that WTOPS No Limit Hold ‘em event?” Yuval Bronshtein: “I got up and yelled, but I was also one of the chip leaders in the H.O.R.S.E. event so I had to focus.” So after winning about $100k by beating 2,472 players, Yuval kept his concentration up and won the HORSE FTOPS event as well. Horsepokerblog.com: “How did you react when you won the HORSE event as well?” Yuval Bronshtein: “It was about 6:30 in the morning, I got up yelled “YES!” and woke up my roommate to tell him. Then I received nonstop phone calls and text messages for the next two hours, before going to bed.”

Yuval has been playing a lot of live tournaments as well, so he has seen a lot of good players over the years. He has admiration for many live players, but names two in particular. Yuval Bronshtein: “Phil ivey is probably the best and most intimidating player these days and I think he is an unreal guy and poker player. And I also think Chris “Jesus” Ferguson is an amazing all around player and cool guy. He has accomplished a lot and is a real big asset to the poker world.”

Before his two FTOPS winnings, Yuval already made a name for himself by ending third at the 2007 WSOP $2000,- Limit Hold ‘em event and cashing over $100k. Also, he placed 6th at the WSOP £2,500 H.O.R.S.E. event, winning about $30,000. But Yuval wants more:

“I want the bracelet.”

Let’s hope he gets one soon!