Author 'The Captain' Archive
The Pros Speak: Greg Mueller - Part Two
Posted by The Captain | Filed under The Pros Speak
Last week we presented Part One of our interview with Full Tilt Pro Greg Mueller on what it takes to succeed at the World Series of Poker. This week we’ll continue along those lines and go even further in depth on tournament poker as a whole. Enjoy!
Speaking of learning as you play, do you think it’s important to discuss your play or specific hands after tournaments?
Well, it all depends on who you’re discussing it with and why you’re discussing it. If you’re doing this to get sympathy, to tell a bad beat story, it’s just not worth it. If you’re talking with good poker players, you can get a lot of good information and a lot of insight. I don’t discuss hands as much as I used to, but when I was getting started, I’d talk with the people that I hung out with about key hands all the time, because you can get so much information and learn from the experience. Whatever the case is, sometimes you think you know a lot and after a conversation, you wake up.
Tags: Greg Mueller, WSOP
The Pros Speak: Greg Mueller
Posted by The Captain | Filed under The Pros Speak
One aspect of the WSOP that makes it interesting is the number of “amateurs” that end up playing – and frequently going deep – in various events. This is especially true of $1.5K buy-in events, where runners frequently number in the thousands. One of the questions that this seems to beg is, “what’s it take to play in a WSOP event?” While the obvious answer is buy-in money, the proverbial chip and chair are only the beginning.
To get a professional opinion on actually making it happen, our cohort in Vegas was able to get a few minutes of Greg Mueller’s time. Here’s his take, in his own words:
Tags: Greg Mueller, WSOP
Tuscaloosa John - WSOP Blogger On The Rail - Post 2
Posted by The Captain | Filed under Bloggers Corner
As our man on the ground, Tuscaloosa John’s coverage of the events in Vegas surrounding the 2008 WSOP continues:
Friday, 11/07/08, 10 pm
Hand for hand play lasted an eternity Thursday at the Rio. I’m sure it seemed that way for the short-stacked participants, at least. The most amazing story was that of Argentinean Fernando Gordo, or more accurately his stack. Gordo did not show up Thursday to play his 140,000 stack and was blinded off as the day progressed. When the money bubble burst his stack was still alive, but down to 1,500. That stack earned him $21,230.
Tags: Tuscaloosa John, WSOP
The Pros Speak: Brad Booth
Posted by The Captain | Filed under The Pros Speak
Everyone’s got their own idea of what to look for when they want to get into a cash game. And of course, the more experience that someone has, the more information they can collect before they even sit down. With that in mind, we caught up with Brad Booth out in Vegas and asked him for his thoughts on the subject. Here’s the man himself – in his own words:
Tags: Brad Booth, Live Poker
Tuscaloosa John - WSOP Blogger On The Rail - Post 1
Posted by The Captain | Filed under Bloggers Corner
At long last, the time has come for a dispatch from our man on the ground in Sin City. For those of you just joining us, Tuscaloosa John was the blogger who claimed victory in the Battle of the Bloggers Write Your Way to the 2008 WSOP competition last month. Since then, he’s spent several weeks in Vegas taking in the scene and playing in various tournaments.
As of the beginning of the Main Event, he’s been keeping tabs on the action as he’s experienced it first-hand – and here it is:
Tags: Tuscaloosa John, WSOP
The Pros Speak: Mike Matusow
Posted by The Captain | Filed under The Pros Speak
Team Full Tilt’s Mike Matusow is clearly one of the most outspoken personalities in poker – and one of the most talented. While his past antics have ranged from entertaining to offensive, his performance over the course of this year’s WSOP has been nothing less than top-notch in terms of behavior and performance. Over the last month, he’s earned his third career bracelet, made the final table in the $10K Omaha Hi/Lo Split event, and cashed in the $1.5K HORSE. Even more impressive, he’s been extremely mellow and focused on his game.
Tags: Mike Matusow, WSOP
In and Out of the Money
Posted by The Captain | Filed under Bloggers Corner
The Main Event is under way, and Day 1A saw 1,297 hopefuls take to the felt. By the end of the day, the field had been reduced to 657 runners. To put this in another context, 640 folks made a $10K contribution to a prize-pool that they’ll see no part of. While this might not seem like a lot in terms of big-name pros, it’s still a hefty chunk of change. Just making the decision to buy in to a tournament at this level requires a great deal of commitment. This is where the “psychology of money” begins to come into play: being able to deal with it as an abstraction and not an object.
Tags: Mike Matusow, WSOP
Big Time Boxing - Full Tilt Poker Sponsor
Posted by The Captain | Filed under Bloggers Corner
If you’re looking for the best in Irish and UK boxing action this weekend, make sure to check out Big Time Boxing this Saturday, July 5th, at 9:00pm. Broadcast live on TV3 Ireland from the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, Dublin, these all-star bouts will feature a top-of-the-bill clash between Irish Light-middleweight champion Ciaran Healy (8-7, 2 KO) and world rated gladiator Jamie Moore (29-3, 20 KO). With some of the best new and aspiring fighters in Irish Professional Boxing, this is sure to be an exciting event.
Tags: Big Time Boxing
The Pros Speak: Ali Nejad
Posted by The Captain | Filed under The Pros Speak
Watching the pros play in televised tournaments like Poker After Dark, everything seems to play out according to a master plan. After hours of footage have been edited and put out for mass consumption, we get a slick presentation of the best of it – which makes for some pretty entertaining poker TV.
But what’s it really like to be there, in front of the cameras, knowing that every move you make is going to be put out there for everyone else to watch? Recently, Ali Nejad was good enough to share his recollections of his first appearance as a player on Poker After Dark and what it was like for him. While he’s got years of experience giving professional commentary on the game, that experience at the table didn’t play out the way he hoped. Here’s what happened – in his own words:
Tags: Ali Nejad, Poker After Dark
The Pros Speak: Gavin Smith
Posted by The Captain | Filed under The Pros Speak
One of the most entertaining aspects of live poker is the banter at the table. Just mentioning certain players immediately elicits comments about their style and, invariably, their personality at the table. But how much of what we see accurately reflects the player in question? For that matter, how important is “table image” when you get right down to it?
Rather than trying to put a fine point on it ourselves, we recently had the chance to listen to Gavin Smith’s thoughts on the subject. While his antics might lead folks to believe that he’s a reckless madman at the table, that’s far from the case. In fact, people’s perception of him is just another edge that he’s able to capitalize on. Here’s what he had to say about image and how it fits into the picture for him:
Tags: Gavin Smith, Table Image
