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Meet PLO Specialist Rui Cao aka PepperoniF

French-Chinese poker pro Rui Cao is a rising star at mid and high stakes PLO playing under the name “PepperoniF” on PokerStars. Before dedicating his life to poker, he was a competitive video gamer as a teenager and later a student in computer science and finance. These skills translated well over to poker, as Cao learned how to react quickly while also thinking deeply about certain situations, developed a competitive mindset, and also became well-versed in subjects such as financials, analytics, and advanced mathematics.

Cao spent the early part of his life in China, before moving to Paris, France at seven years old. He was introduced to poker in 2006 where he played mostly with friends in low-stakes home games. It wasn’t until after he received his degree in finance that he began taking poker seriously. In an interview with CardPlayer, Cao talked about the beginning of his career in poker.

I didn’t want to be a full-time poker player at first, but I changed my mind when the money I was winning became significant. It was really hard to balance school and poker so I focused more on my studies.

Once he had more time to dedicate to poker, he deposited $50 on Full Tilt under the screen name “Gohanounet” and never looked back. In only three short months, Cao went from a small $50 deposit to playing $5/10 no limit. Take a look at this sick graph during this time where he hit $1.7 million from January 2011 to August 2011.

Not long after his amazing start, he joined up with a group of French high stakes players called Team Limpers. He then started playing PLO and it’s been his main game ever since. Below, Cao gives some advice for beginner PLO players.

The biggest mistake beginners make at PLO is to play loose. They play too many hands, as preflop equity is a lot smaller compared to no-limit. Hand selection is actually more important in PLO because hands can easily be dominated. Playability is the real key to preflop hand selection.

Playing aggressively with your draws is also part of a winning strategy because big draws are so powerful and very profitable. Having draws to the nuts is really important and a huge advantage because draw vs draw happens pretty often.

Cao has been a professional poker player since graduating college and said preparation is key in order to be fully focused and capable of always playing his best at the tables. From the very beginning, he always prepared for each session. Cao also developed a great mindset for the game as he understood financial risk vs reward very well that helped prepare him for any big bankroll swings.

To be a professional poker player, you have to deal with the downswings. Variance is part of the game. I try to play the stakes where I can’t lose more than I can afford. Playing in a game where I’m a favorite will always overcome the variance in the long run. Everyone will face downswings that are going to get bigger as you move up in stakes. If you’re having a hard time dealing with it, drop down where losing won’t hurt too much.

In addition to grinding PLO online, Cao also has some live tournament winnings to his name, with his first in-the-money finish at the 2008 WSOP Main Event. Lately, Cao mostly tangles with some of the top pros in PLO and can also be found playing some of the biggest live cash games in the world in Macau.

 

 

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