There is no doubt Roy changed the Poker Software market forever with the release of HM1.  I don't think people have any idea the impact Roy made to the Poker Software industry almost 5 years ago. 

Roy took the risk and quit his day job to release the most successful, commercially launched Poker Software product ever!  Roy still works every week on HM2 and we are all lucky to work with someone as forward-thinking and articulate as Roy.

Name?

A.       Roy Goncalves

How long have you worked for Holdem Manager?

A.       I spent 12 years at a financial services start up. I co-founded where I was an Executive and Chief Architect and left all of that once Holdem Manager launched to follow my passion almost 5 years ago.

What specific part of Holdem Manager do you work on?

A.       In Holdem Manager 2 I'm mainly responsible for the data model so basically extracting and utilizing all the bits of info we collect in as efficient a way as possible so that the other layers can leverage on that. 

Anything interesting about your past work experience?

A.       I wore a lot of hats at my previous company.  I had to be very creative in building solutions; I dealt with operational issues and project planning; created short and long term strategies for the technology; dealt with everyone from end users to fortune 500 executives;  learned how important it is to surround yourself with the right people; saw the company go from 2 people to 80 and go through an IPO and get listed on the stock exchange etc.  It's impossible to be heavily involved in something like that and not learn a lot of lessons, both good and bad.  I used these lessons to help build Holdem Manager.

Have you done any poker side projects in the past?

A.        I built a few free apps for the Sit'n'Go crowd on 2+2 including a very popular program that allowed you to run various long term simulations to gather expectation ranges.  Back in those days we all used a tournament tracker that was good but not really kept up to date so I created Tourney Manager which was a very successful niche product.  It was really my frustration with the other management tools on the market that led to the development of Holdem Manager.

What is your favorite variation of poker?

A.       I don’t play much anymore because thinking about poker 24×7 for many years does impact the enjoyment of it, at least for me, but I played a lot of 6 max NL on Party Poker getting as high as 5/10 and the occasional 10/20 game when the tables were soft.  My best two months were the last two that I played and my overall poker playing profit was close to 6 figures – that was about 3 years ago so from what I hear I'd probably get murdered at the tables now!  I did spend a lot of time analyzing opponents away from the tables and making some highly effective notes and was also a table selection ninja – I'd say those are the most important things you can do to directly improve your winrate.

How often do you play every week?

A.     Besides the occasional home game I only play when I need to test something for HM1 or HM2.  

Can you share anything that might help a developer get hired for their dream job?  (Poker or not)

A.       Think about creating your dream job and hire yourself.  I spent a year writing Holdem Manager before it launched in beta many years ago.  That meant working on it every morning, evening and through the weekends ( in addition to the 50-60 hours a week on my "day job").  It's never easy but it is rewarding in countless ways.