Member Interview 3: Providing the Right Poker Study Materials and Learning Environment - Hiroshi Goto

Hello! I’m on the PR team at CLOViZ Inc.

A lot of people are probably wondering what CLOViZ actually is and what kind of members make up the team.
In this note, we’ll introduce CLOViZ members in an interview format. While touching on the vision and values CLOViZ aims for, as well as each member’s role and skill set, we’ll highlight the strength of the team as a whole and the unique appeal of each individual.

For our third feature, we’re introducing Director Mr. Goto!

1. Multiple Titles in a Short Time

— First, could you briefly introduce yourself?

My name is Hiroshi Goto. I’m affiliated with the Department of Technology Management for Innovation at the Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo. Until recently, I was a regular on the TBS TV show “Todai-O.”

I first discovered poker seven years ago, when I was a first-year high school student. Back then, I played casually for fun, but about a year and a half ago I started studying seriously, focusing in particular on a genre called mixed games.

As for results, I’ve won five events so far: four different events at JOPT in Japan, plus one event at APT overseas.

Beyond playing, I’ve also hosted domestic tournaments, taught mixed games as a poker coach, and appeared on the YouTube channel “Poker Royale.”

~ About JOPT ~

https://japanopenpoker.com/

~ About Poker Royale ~

https://www.youtube.com/@PokerRoyale-zs9cq

2. How He Got Results Unusually Fast

— Those are amazing results, and you only started studying seriously last year.
From your perspective, what’s the best way for someone new to poker to study and improve?

My conclusion is simple: learning from the right materials matters most.

Compared to when I started, there are clearly more learning resources available now. But that also means there’s a lot more unreliable content and information that won’t actually help you improve. The key is being able to tell the difference. I recommend learning from strong players and people you can trust. If you study for a year using the wrong materials, you won’t get much better. With the right materials, you’ll improve quickly.

Even as a beginner, I think you can reach a level where you don’t look obviously inexperienced in about a month if you use the right resources. These days, you even see players with less than a year of experience who are extremely good. Personally, after about two months of studying, I was able to win tournaments and really felt my improvement.

Right now, I think a great way to study is to use the app we’re developing, POKER Q’z. The team behind POKER Q’z includes many people who understand the fundamentals at a deep level, and we’re confident it’s a service that can give you the right direction. If you ever feel stuck, I’d love for you to rely on it.

If I were starting poker from scratch today, I would absolutely use POKER Q’z intensely.

3. What Makes Poker So Appealing to Him

— So choosing what information to trust is crucial. What do you find most appealing about poker?

Compared to games like mahjong, poker is easy to learn, so the entry barrier is low, but the game is incredibly deep. That contrast is a big part of its appeal.

What’s especially great about poker is the balance between luck and skill. In shogi, a beginner would lose 100 out of 100 games against a pro. In poker, even a beginner could probably beat a top pro 10 to 20 times. But over the long run, skill shows up in the results. That balance, where luck plays a role but strong players still win over time, is what draws so many people in.
Also, because poker is played around a table with multiple players, once you fold a hand there isn’t much to do in that moment. That makes it easy to talk about hands, chat, and connect with other players. I think that social aspect is another major attraction.

4. Making Poker More Part of Everyday Life

— That’s true. If you have an experience where you can beat a pro, you start thinking you might do it again, and you want to keep playing.
How would you like to see the poker industry develop from here?

In Japan, legal regulations mean there are fewer poker players, and the scene is still much smaller than overseas. In the United States, on the other hand, huge events like the WSOP are held, poker is played casually in casinos, and poker shows are even broadcast on TV. It’s extremely popular.

In Japan, I hope regulations will gradually loosen over time. I’d love to see a professional league established domestically, and for cash games and tournaments to be held with prize pools on the same scale as overseas, to the point where it becomes normal to see poker on TV. If that happens, more people will be able to enjoy poker as part of everyday life, and the entire industry will become even more vibrant.

5. What Makes POKER Q’z Different: The Right Materials and the Right Environment

— I really hope it keeps growing from here. You mentioned earlier that you’re developing POKER Q’z. Could you tell us more about what makes it appealing?

POKER Q’z has two main strengths.

The first is that you can learn through a well-structured curriculum while having fun. When people think about studying poker, they imagine reading books or doing calculations and approaching it like traditional studying. But POKER Q’z is designed so it feels like you’re playing poker, like you’re just enjoying the game, and before you know it you’ve been learning. The app guides you step by step through what beginner players need, so even if you don’t know where to start, you can still learn in a clear, logical way.

In the future, we plan to collect users’ play data and build a service that can teach things like, “For players with this style, this approach is optimal.”

The second strength is that you can find people to learn with. It’s hard to stay motivated when you study alone. If you have friends who can keep each other motivated and improve together, learning poker becomes much more enjoyable.
When you’re thinking, “Where do I start?” “Where should I play?” or “I want to travel overseas for tournaments, but I don’t have anyone to go with,” joining POKER Q’z lets you start from zero, find teammates to work with, and have everything in one place. That’s a major advantage compared to other services.

In the future, I hope people in POKER Q’z will be highly motivated, achieve strong tournament results, and that when people think of a strong poker community in Japan, they’ll say POKER Q’z.

— Mr. Goto, thank you so much for your time today!

Thank you as well. If you’re interested in what we’re building and would like to get involved in developing the service with us, please contact us using the link below!