Nikita Lebedev Turns €0.01 Into €3,016

When Nikita Lebedev bought into an Irish Open Main Event satellite for a mere €0.01 he had no idea that single cent would eventually morph into a much more substantial €3,016 score. But that is exactly what happened, this is Lebedev’s story.

Lebedev is primarily a cash game player, but the lure of the Irish Open Main Event was too strong for him to resist. It is the longest-running live poker tournament behind only the World Series of Poker Main Event after all. Lebedev decided to mix things up by attempting to spin up a small sum into some tournament entries.

“I decided to try spin a small sum by playing cheap tournaments and satellites, including centrolls.”

Spinning €0.01 Into €3,016

Spin up he did as he progressed through the various branches of the satellite tree and won his €1,100 Irish Open Main Event seat. This is a remarkable achievement, yet it’s not the first time Lebedev has turned a small buy-in into a hefty prize.

“When partypoker first introduced the PP LIVE Dollars, I won $500 and $1,000 within the space of a week. I also qualified for the online Sochi series 23K and 70K rubles, but unfortunately did not manage to cash in the events.”

There was no pressure on Lebedev when he sat down in the €1,100 Irish Open Main Event because his seat only cost him one cent! There may have been little pressure on him, but Day 1 did not exactly go to plan.

“Day 1 started well when I won with the nut flush versus a set, but I mostly spent the rest of the flight with a 20-35 big blind stack. I also crossed paths with Artur Martirosian at one point. Towards the end of the day, I had a stack that I could not fold, and luckily a biog stack pushed his second pair into my top pair meaning I successfully navigated into the money.”

Lebedev managed to ladder up a few pay jumps on Day 2 before falling in 113th place, which saw a €3,016.19 prize wing its way to his partypoker account What does Lebedev plan to do with this four-figure sum?

Could Lebedev Become a Professional Poker Player?

“The result brought me some satisfaction in that it confirmed my poker ability. As for what I am going to do with the money, I’ve not decided how much I will use to treat myself and how much will go into my bankroll. That said, I will probably invest 1/3 into my bankroll.”

This result has given Lebedev the confidence to follow his dreams of becoming a professional poker player.

“I discovered long time ago. I played with friends where chips were replacing chips with coins and cigarettes, but I started playing online poker about three years ago, with varying degrees of success. These days, I will sometimes play poker five or six times per week for three or four months, but then I might not open the client for a couple of months. I do not play professionally, but that may change in the near future.”