What did you do and study before you started playing poker?
I worked at a youth jail and in some group homes for troubled youth. I actually loved the job and would definitely still be doing it if not for poker.
In an interview you said that you had been playing poker since 2003 and that you had come across the game in a casino near your place. Please, tell us about this period. How did poker become so important for you? Have you always been so successful since the beginning?
Definitely not. My wife and I went to casino one weekend for something to do and we played blackjack for about 8 hours. I think we started with $40 and ended up leaving with about $1k. After that, I was hooked, I started going to the casino minimum once week. I had about $5k to my name back then in a savings account and I ended losing all that to the casino. One day, we thought we would try a different casino; we lost a bit and decided to walk around, and I noticed a bunch of guys playing poker. I asked the pit boss what they were doing and if we could play, he said yes but warned me that half of the guys playing were doing it for a living. I had no clue you could play poker for a living so later that week went to Chapters, bought Super Systems, and read it about a 100 times. Then I started going twice a week, losing still, but not as much.
What limits did you start your online career at and how much was your initial bankroll?
After going to the casino so much, I got to know quite a few of the regulars. They were always talking about how soft the online games were, so I gave it a try, I think I probably deposited a total of $1k. While getting started, I played 2 tables of 3/6 limits and maybe made $3k in a 6-month span, then switched to NL. When I started playing NL, I would only play the smallest limits and look for guys sitting with an odd amount, thinking that they were just there to bust the last bit of cash in their account.
You are widely considered the best NL100 FR player in the world; you are on the top of the all-time money list at this limit. We guess you have been asked this several times but we just cannot drop it: why don't you move to higher limits with your skills and knowledge? Is it really only those few unsuccessful attempts that hold you back?
LOL I don’t think I am the best NL100 player in the world, I just think I was one of the better players that stayed there the longest. As far as moving up goes, I'm actually in the process of doing that now, I'm getting help from ‘gutter23,’ NL200 biggest winner in 2011, and some other midstakes regulars. For not moving up earlier, it was simple: I felt I could earn more at NL100 than I could at NL200.
You are a veteran in low stakes games so you must have an excellent overview of the changes in the game and the field in the past few years. What do you think about these?
As far as the quality of the games, I think they have and will continue to get tougher every day. At NL100, the regulars aren't getting much better, there's just more of them, but I think a huge change is how much better the recreational players have gotten. They don't stack off with top pair like they used to and they like to 3-bet so they’re getting more difficult to play against.
How challenging is it for you to adapt to these changes?
Adapting to NL100 comes naturally I think, but NL200 is definitely going to take a lot of work. I'm still making mistakes daily at NL200 that I shouldn't be making.
FR players are often criticised for being "nits" and the game type labelled as simple set mining. What do you think about this? Why do you only have a few hands played at the more popular SH tables?
I just never really got into 6 max, not sure why; I play quite a bit of short handed at FR tables when tables are starting, though. Being criticized for a nit is something I've seen and heard a million times. Biggest two nits I know are ‘vinivici9586’ and ‘gutter23’ so I think being a nit in full ring may be the way to go. There's good and bad nits just like there's good and bad LAGs. It’s very tough to play loose aggressively at NL100 and also unnecessary. When you get above NL200 I don't think you can nit it up and survive though. Players are just too good and will eat you alive.
How many tables do you normally play at the same time? What is your average hand count in a month and what are your stats like?
I play 12 tables, I used to be like 17/12 but now it’s more like 15/12, my 3-bet is 4% and aggression is around 2% I think. I usually get close to 100k hands per month.
How much time do you spend with analysis? Do you work on your game alone or are you the member of a poker community?
I never really looked into my game until recently moving to NL200. I realized that without daily hand history reviews and adjustments it will be very tough for me to win there. I'm a member of 2p2, but don't post in the strategy sections. I'm in a Skype group with guys like ’smbsmbsmb’ and ‘subv,’ they both help me a lot with NL200 hands.
What kinds of software do you use, if any? What are the important data for you on your HUD?
I use HM2. I don’t use my HUD a lot at NL100 but definitely will be getting HUD coaching for NL200 because I feel I need every edge I can to be able to beat it.
What is your poker schedule like? Is it a problem for you to synchronize poker and your personal life?
No, I play from 8am to 5pm while my wife is at work and son is at daycare.
Do you have any suggestions for beginners who want to build their bankrolls with FR play?
ABC it at first and don’t over adjust, just play solid poker. Also, don’t try to apply something you have seen in a NL600 Full Ring video to an NL100 game, it just won’t work.
PokerStars has introduced a number of changes recently, for example the weighted contributed method in VPP distribution and the reduced rakes; moreover, the new fast game type, Zoom Poker, is also near. Since the market leading room is your primary pool, you must have a comment or two on these improvements. How do you see them?
Most of this stuff is out of my control, so I don't worry about it much. I will definitely give Zoom a try when it comes out.
Most cash game players give tournaments a shot sooner or later. How about you? Do you have any results in MTTs? Do you plan on participating in the WSOP this year?
I have played 4 or 5 World Series events with no results. I think I min cashed the WCOOP main one year so that was probably my biggest score. I will go to WSOP this year but I won’t decide if I’m going to play tourneys until I see how good the cash games are.
What do you do in your free time?
Between poker and family stuff, I don't have a lot of extra time. I like to hunt and fish and also play hockey twice a week.
Thank you for the interview and we wish you the best of luck in the future!
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