Run It Once Q&A: Nuno Alvarez names the world's best heads-up players

Nuno Alvarez: I started quite long ago, around 2009. I was very young, sixteen years old, and I became interested through a game on my phone. I didn't know exactly how it worked, but then my dad introduced me to the rules of five-card draw. 

Then, typical story, there's a friend of yours who's into poker and kind of introduces you to the game. I started playing home games with this guy and some other friends. Then we started playing online and at that time you could play online in Spain. This was pre-Black Friday so the games were super sick, and you could play anytime. 

I became more and more interested in the game and ended up pursuing a career in poker. I've always been interested in strategy games, since I was a child. I played chess when I was a kid and Magic the Gathering when I was a bit older. 

Is there a stigma -- either positive or negative -- associated with poker in Spain? What did your parents say when you told them you were going to pursue poker full time?

NA: There's definitely a stigma in Spain, definitely negative. People don't know how poker works and just think it's gambling. I actually was very lucky because my parents were very nice in that sense. They understood that this was something I really enjoyed doing and that I could earn money doing. 

I know that's not the most common case for most people, but I was lucky. My dad had some interest in the game, but my Mom was actually a bit more supportive at first. Once he did some research and found out there were a lot of people that play poker professionally, he was definitely very supportive.

You've been a heads up no-limit player for years -- how do you operate in that environment and do you think it's become harder for you to get action over time? 

NA: Most of my volume over the years has been on PokerStars and heads-up on Stars is Zoom. So, there can be five regs and a recreational player and all the regs can be winning because of the nature of Zoom. Regarding the action, it can be quite difficult to find if you want to play for meaningful stakes. In part because of what you mentioned, people don't like playing against you if you're beating them. 

Heads up, for me, is the most pure form of poker. I enjoy it for how it develops. 

Linus Loeliger is right at the top of the heads-up game, according to Alvarez

Who do you think the top five heads up players in the world are?

NA: That's a recurring question. The answer I'd give is that it's very hard to know. First of all, at the top of any discipline there are different abilities you can have. If you look at tennis, for example, if you look at the top five players... Would you say Novak [Djokovic] is better than [Carlos] Alcaraz? You can't really say, each of them has their abilities and it's very subjective. All the lists you can make are subjective, but of course that's how it goes. 

I think, for heads up in particular, it's hard to know because you aren't going to see the number one and number two players playing against each other all day, every day. In tennis, you see that. And there's variance in poker, so if it does happen it's not the same. 

I can name some players. I think Linus [Loeliger] is still the best. He's been around for a long time, always at the top. 'Buttonclickr' [Henri Puustinen], he's very good. Stefan [Burakov] is probably the most talented player I've ever seen. Also 'BERRI SWEET' is probably near the top of heads up players, which is amazing because he's primarily a PLO player. 

I think Stefan and 'BERRI' are two of the sharpest minds in poker these days. 

How long do you anticipate staying in poker? Is there a dollar amount you want to hit or do you think you'll always be involved in the game in some fashion?

NA: I'm 30 years old now so I'm starting to think about these things a bit more. In the past, I would never think about this. Now, I'm thinking more about the future and what I want to do with my life. There's no dollar amount I'm trying to hit. It's more for as long as I enjoy doing it, I want to continue doing it. 

I like the challenge poker gives you -- forcing you to be your best and perform to your maximum capacity. I could see myself playing for the next ten years if I'm still able to win and enjoy the game. I could also see myself stopping in two or three years if I don't enjoy it. 

If you're interested in hearing more from Nuno Alvarez, the entire conversation is available to Run It Once Elite members. 

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^{Additional image courtesy of Triton Poker/Joe Giron}