The Festival Partner Online Grinder: Riin Saarts
Operators: Optibet | Partypoker
The Festival Series, Optibet, and WinTV are once again ensuring that our players residing in the Baltics receive not only poker gameplay but also engaging interactive entertainment. WinTV has teamed up with Optibet to launch a new entertaining show series, "Optibet Kolmevõistlus ". In the show, three well-known poker personalities will go head-to-head. Prizes will also be available for the viewers.
The series "Optibet Kolmevõistlus/Triathlon," which began on June 1st and consists of 21 episodes, is a poker show airing on WinTV's Twitch channel. In this show, three hosts attempt to solve the age-old poker question among themselves - "Who is the best poker player?" Alongside Kristjan Laas and one of Estonia's all-time most successful poker players, Imre Leibold, the third host is Riin Saarts, who might not be as well known to the broader poker audience. The Festival Series team decided to pause time for a moment to chat with Riin about her past, present, and future.
The Festival Team: Hi Riin! To start off, let's talk about you as a poker player. Can you shed some light on your poker persona? Do you play more MTTs, or can you be considered a thoroughbred Spin player?
Riin Saarts: Starting in 2017 I became a very skilled player. I've tried everything, but I excel in Spins.
Riin: Poker has been a part of my life since around 2007. I discovered the game thanks to a bandmate who made a living playing NLHE full ring. I liked the idea of choosing how much you work and earn (which is possible) while relying on as few external factors as possible. I started playing for real money around 2012, initially as a hobby. Around 2015, I joined ABC Poker (Estonian Poker Academy), where I learned to play the full ring. I didn’t start crushing the games because I worked full-time.
I worked at Playtech as an IT project manager-engineer, where my responsibilities included planning and executing various new physical sites, migrations, integrations, new (internal) tools, etc., within my areas of expertise. This job already had me involved in the gambling sector, which fascinated me so much that I wanted to be connected to it 24/7 and understand the inner workings.
In 2017, I burned out and decided that it was now or never, so I left my job to learn spins full-time. I was trained by Estonia’s best, hrlohe and tossukarla. With their guidance, I built a strong foundation, and under the mentorship of Tossukarla and NemesisBacking,
The Festival Team: Could you please provide us more detailed information about that Optibet challenge?
Riin: In the challenge, I, Estonia’s favorite streamer Kristjan Laas, and the legendary Imre Leibold will compete in various poker formats, including MTTs (Multi-Table Tournaments), Spins, and Cash games. To make things even more exciting, each player will stream their games and try to gather the biggest possible audience to join them in playing a €5 Win TV tournament during their streams. Each host will have 7 shows, meaning you can catch us playing poker in a total of 21 episodes until the end of the year. The winner will be the one who earns the most money by the end of the year and attracts the most viewers to play along. The top host will win a €1,600 The Festival package. Plus, the viewer who plays the best over the 21 episodes will win the same grand prize. There will also be plenty of smaller prizes for viewers during the shows.
The Festival Team: The first two episodes are in the bag. How has it gone so far? Who is in the lead?
Riin: It's been fantastic! I was most worried about the first round since I don't consider myself very skilled in MTTs. However, Optibet rewarded my debut with a golden run. On top of that, the viewers pushed me to play my A-game, which I managed to keep up for the entire 7.5 hours. Almost. The audience and Win TV welcomed me with open arms, so what more could I ask for?
The Festival Team: Stepping away from the poker world for a moment, who are you as a person? What do you do when poker isn't on the table? Any interesting hobbies? We heard you like to cook.
Riin: From June 2023 onwards, I've taken it easy, even resting more, because I became the proud mom of a wonderful baby boy. So speaking about hobbies, being a mum is my hobby. And need to say , I enjoy it!
Cooking, then hahaha, yeah, I was cooking while the interviewer was asking questions. I enjoy cooking, but only when I have the time and energy for it. And of course, I love eating too. I'm a foodie through and through!
I also enjoy reading, especially psychology articles. Gardening is another hobby of mine. My garden is a bit wild right now because my little boss dictates my schedule, but it's still a peaceful and meditative activity. I grow flowers, cucumbers, tomatoes, grapes, watermelons, potatoes, herbs, you name it. My own grapes are starting to change color already, and I've just canned the first batch of pickles. So satisfying!
Oh, and sauna is another hobby of mine. I hit the steam sauna 2-3 times a week, and sometimes I mix it up with a traditional barrel sauna.
Mushroom picking is also a hobby!! It defines me for many.
The Festival Team: Besides raising a child, any bigger poker plans for the future?
Riin: Starting this year, with the help of my good friend 50CandyJoe(online alias), I've also begun studying cash games again. My goal is to return to full-time play next year when my child is in daycare. Whether it will be cash games or Spins, I'm not sure at the moment. Cash games haven't taken off for me yet, and my understanding of that format is still limited.
As part of running the Optibet campaign, I've also had the chance to try MTTs, and it seems like I could thrive in that format as well. So, who knows what the future holds? I'm interested in all formats and believe I have the potential to succeed in each of them.
The Festival Team: Thank you Riin for your time and we wish you a bit of good luck in your journey to win a package for 2025 The Festival Series stop.
For those who feel they'd like to challenge Riin and the two other hosts sometime, you can find broadcast times on WinTV's website. If you can't wait until the end of the year for the results of this ongoing competition and you're itching to travel sooner, The Festival Malta's network-wide partypoker satellites are open for play in Optibet's poker room every Sunday. Plus, every Sunday you have the chance to win a unique Optibet €1500 poker package to either Malta or Bratislava, depending on when you decide to start playing.
