Bryan Micon lets us know everything is fine a juicy cash game.

The World Series of Poker isn’t all serious stuff. Here at BluffMagazine.com we’re well aware of the personalities that make this game so interesting and we wanted to find a way to deliver that to you. That’s why we’re bringingg you the “An Orbit With” interview series. Nine questions, one to represent each hand played in a single orbit; asked of some of the biggest names in the game. Look for new Orbits each day.

For this Orbit we talked with king of all degenerates Bryan “The Icon” Micon.

What’s your life like the ten months of the year outside the WSOP?

People that only come for the WSOP or the Strip don’t realize that we have a whole city here. I live here, it’s just regular life. I stay at home with my girl, play online, run my site NeverwinPoker, and play a little live. Pretty much just take it easy, but this next month and a half is a frenzy. 

What’s the sleaziest place in Vegas you’ve been?

As some of your readers may know, I’m the king of all degenerates. I do go to some sleazy places. I don’t go to North Las Vegas that much, but I’ve spent a little time at the Binion’s coffee house.

What is the last book you’ve read?

The Stu Ungar story was the last non-strategy book I’ve read. For strategy it was the Joe Navarro book.

What poker player is the best dancer?

I did do the “Thriller” dance so I’m qualified to answer this. I have to give it to Chris Ferguson because I’ve seen him ballroom dance. If you ask me who the best rapper is, it’s Brett Richey.

Which strip club is cheering for you the most to win a bracelet?

I don’t go to strip clubs, I have a lovely girlfriend. The last strip club I went to was the Velvet Lion to support a friend. Wait, that doesn’t sound good - there was a free bottle involved. 

What was your first car?

My first car was a 1989 Honda Accord.

Finish this sentence: Right now I could really use…

A bracelet and $500,000.

What’s your excuse for those shoes?

Advance your token to Go. Collect $200.

The Monopoly kicks are smooth as hell. Obviously big ups to Riff Raff from G’s to Gents. I totally copied him. When I saw that Monopoly shoes were available I scoured the internet to find them, it took a long time. What better place to debut them?

If you could choose one player to beat heads up for a bracelet, who would it be?

It’s gotta be Phil Hellmuth just to see the disappointment on his face denying him a little bit more of history.

Russian superstar Vitaly Lunkin is all smiles after winning his second bracelet in as many years.

He was an unknown coming into the event filled with celebrity poker players, but after winning the 2009 World Series of Poker’s Special 40th Annual $40,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament, Vitaly Lunkin is sure to become a household name.

After winning his second gold bracelet at the WSOP in as many years, Lunkin, who is very methodical at the table, was excited and energetic when he spoke to reporters about the title and winning nearly $1.9 million.

Describe how you feel after winning this tournament.

It’s an unbelievable feeling because last year when I was here I won my first tournament, my first gold bracelet, but it was my first time last year. This year, the same situation repeated — my first tournament and I won the gold bracelet.

How much more difficult was this tournament compared to other games you’ve played in?

It was the most difficult poker tournament in my life.

A lot of people picked the legendary players or the online players to win, but then you come out of nowhere and win the tournament. Talk about that feeling.

Every player at the table was a star and I knew about them, but now I saw them in a real tournament and I’m very happy that I had this chance to battle with them.

Are you a star now too?

I believe so.

What is the Russian secret to poker?

There is no Russian secret. Just play good.

What year were you born?

1971.

When you were born it was the Soviet Union and the United States and there was a Cold War and you grew up in the Soviet Union, a completely different system than what you see here. Would you have thought when you were a boy growing up in the Soviet Union that you would be here winning something like this in Las Vegas?

Of course when I was young I did not think about this because we didn’t have poker and I never had this idea to go to the United States, to Las Vegas. But I think if we didn’t have this barrier between Russia and other countries, probably poker (would have) entered our country earlier.

At the table you’re very calm and controlled, but right now you’re very jittery and very anxious. Talk about how excited you are right now.

During the game I’m all in the game plus I make special exercises that help me control my feelings. But when the game is over I’m just an ordinary man.

Teddy Monroe flashes his smile and bling.

The World Series of Poker isn’t all serious stuff. Here at BluffMagazine.com we’re well aware of the personalities that make this game so interesting and we wanted to find a way to deliver that to you. That’s why we’re bringing you the “An Orbit With” interview series. Nine questions, one to represent each hand played in a single orbit; asked of some of the biggest names in the game. Look for new Orbits each day.

Saturday we talked with blinged out poker pro Teddy “The Iceman” Monroe.

What does it take to become the Iceman?

It takes a lot. Everyday you have to be happy. The ups and downs, the arguments at home, if you forgot to take the trash cans out, but if I know I’m leaving to go play poker, that’s the most exciting thing in the world to me. That’s being the Iceman. Oh yeah, and you have to look good too.

How would you train students?

First of all, I would show them how to set a goal. Then it depends if they were already playing. I would stop them and take a sheet of paper and make a chart for each day. When they come home they’d have to stop by the Icebox and put a check for a winning day and an X for a losing day. If they had a losing day they would have to explain to me why they lost so they can narrow down why they’re playing bad. That right there will help be you better your game.

Any chance of us seeing a Teddy Monroe signature series of headphones?

Yeah, of course. You know the Iceman is going to come out with some new headphones. I’m gonna keep it different every year. My fans out there love me so I gotta keep changing it up. I’ve got an Iceman fan and I haven’t shown it yet. It’s all blinged out - it hasn’t been the right time to bring it out yet. I’m playing in $1,000 event and I’m going to bring it out. It’s all iced out and has blue and red diamonds in it. Y’all gotta come out and see it.

What odds do you give yourself on winning a bracelet this year?

The odds I’m giving myself are…like from one to ten, I would say like an eight.  I’ve been there, I’ve been there done that. I know the little things. I know how to get to the final table. I know how to survive if you’re not getting cards. I don’t look at how big the field is or how tough the player is, I just focus on the table that I’m on and I beat those players. A lot of the players know me and they know when they’re in a hand with me they have to get lucky because I’m not going to be in there without a hand.

Where’s the best place in Vegas to grab a meal?

Believe me, I eat everywhere. But the best place is at my house. My wife cooks every Sunday and the problem is I can’t stop her. When I first came to Vegas I weighed like 198 lbs. She’s always cooking two meats; baked chicken, barbecued chicken, roast, turkey wings. That’s the best place to eat. The second best place is the Venetian. They have a variety of luxurious  food, they cook it really good.

What’s the most outrageous prop bet you’ve ever made?

Actually, I haven’t really made a prop bet. Guys have came to me and want to make one, but the only real prop bet I’ve made was shooting balls of paper into a trash can with Phil Ivey in 2006. We were betting $1,000 on the best of five shots. We both missed all five.

If you could pick one person to be heads up with at a final table, who is the one person you would want to bust out the most?

I would like to bust out David Williams because he thinks he can play better than me. I’ve been out here much longer than David; he’s much younger than me. It’s their turn, I’ve had a great life, and I’ve got nothing against the kids. They make me feel young again. He’s always talking smack because he got lucky as a young kid. I look at him and think I’ve been through more than you’ve been through. Every time I play against him he plays real aggressive and somehow ends up losing. So if I can just get him at a final table I know he’s going to act like “Oh yeah, I’ve been here before. The Iceman isn’t comfortable, he can’t beat me.” But I’ve been there before too. I’m going to put on a show and beat him.

What’s the most balla thing you’ve bought?

I jsut bought a hundred inch flat screen. It’s sitting in my living room. I’ve been watching the Lakers and Nuggets play and it’s like sitting next to Jack Nicholson.

Ok, so you’re stranded on a desert island and you can only bring one piece of bling with you. Which one is it and why?

I would bring my cross because it’s going to be so hot that I’m going to have to hang it up and pray to God to get me off this island before I pass out.

Six years after setting off a boom in the poker world, Chris Moneymaker is off to an excellent start to the 2009 World Series of Poker. Moneymaker played strong for 10 levels during day one of Event #2 ($40,000 No Limit Hold ‘em), finishing the day with a chip stack of 805,000.

A bracelet for Moneymaker in this event could spark a whole new wave of the ”Moneymaker Effect”, the surge of people who began playing poker online and in card rooms after his storybook win in the Main Event of the WSOP 2003, but Moneymaker himself does not think so. “The poker world is pretty strong right now, I don’t know if me winning would do anything to it. It may help, it may not,” he said.

While the rest of the world may have been inspred by the story of an accountant from Tennessee turning $39 into $2.5 million, Moneymaker is pretty modest when it comes to discussing the effect he has had on the game. “I was at the right place at the right time,” he said. He does not think much about terms like “Moneymaker Effect,” “if you think about it to much, crazy thoughts get in your head.” Moneymaker also said he has not noticed a change in the poker world since his one of a kind win, “I wasn’t really around when poker was dying off, so to me it just seems normal,” he said.

Moneymaker started off day two at a table with Doyle Brunson, Alex Jacob, Ted Forrest and Antonio Esfandiari and focused on collecting as many chips as he could rather than what a win in the event would mean for amateur poker players all over the world. “I’m at a pretty tough table, well all tables in a 40k are tough,” he said. Moneymaker is not concerned with bringing more players to live and online poker rooms. “Winning would be great for me and certainly great for my family,” he said.

Moneymaker said he felt great and played great during day one but had trouble getting in the zone during day two. But in the zone or not, he managed to stay strong during the early levels of the day. He kept his chip stack larger than average and found himself in the position of chip leader at one point. “I’m not seeing the cards I want today,” he said. “I lost queens versus kings, but overall I’ve been able to keep my losses to a minmum.” Moneymaker’s plan was to coast through, concentrate on getting into the money and work his way up the ladder from there. “First things first,” he said.

Moneymaker is planning to play four events during the 2009 WSOP. And no matter the outcome of Event #2 or any other event he plays in this year, the story of Chris Moneymaker will continue. “I love playing poker and I envision myself playing in the future,” he said. The accountant and father of two turned professional poker player with a story straight out of a movie has no plans to leave the felt anytime soon. “You’ll see me here 20 years from now.”

At 6-feet 7-inches tall, armed with a quiet confidence, Huck Seed is one of the most intimidating players to have at the poker table.

In March, Seed won the 2009 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship title to add to his four World Series of Poker bracelets, including the Main Event in 1996.

During a break in Day 2 of the 2009 WSOP’s Special 40th Annual No-Limit Hold’em $40,000 buy-in tournament, Seed sat down with BluffMagazine.com to talk about his play this year.

What are your goals for this year’s World Series?

My goals for this year’s World Series is to not play too much, not burn myself out. I guess I have negative goals. To put it in a positive way: to pace myself, just play a nice balanced amount so I can stay intense and focus and have fun while I’m playing.

How does your performance in the $40,000 tournament set the tone for the rest of the WSOP?

It has no affect at all. I try not to be too results oriented, so my results don’t usually affect me. I kind of analyze my play or what happened. I might have won a tournament, but I might have thought that I played terrible or I might have gotten knocked out pretty early but I was very happy with how I played, so the result doesn’t matter too much to me.

How are you looking at your play right now after Day 1 and about halfway through Day 2?

I was pretty happy with my play yesterday, it was pretty good. I made a bad call against Doyle (Brunson), but he made a really good bet that looked kind of bluffy. I can’t say it was my bad play or his great play or whatever, but I made one wrong decision there with a big call on the river. I made a lot of really nice plays. I feel pretty good today.

Talk about winning the NBC Heads-Up tournament and how you carry momentum from that into the WSOP.

I felt a little momentum for a couple weeks after the heads-up tournament, but it kind of fizzled out after that point, after two or three weeks. No momentum from that really.

Does being a Main Event champion give you an extra edge or more confidence when you come back and play here year after year in the WSOP?

Not really for me because it was so long ago. It was 13 years ago. I’m a totally different person now. I was 26 then, I’m 40 now. It’s like a whole other lifetime almost.

How has your play changed in the last 13 years?

You can write 10 books on that. I try and stay with the times, adjust to the players. The play is a lot different now, so my play is obviously going to be different.

In the $40k, you’re playing against a lot of the biggest names in the poker world. How does playing in the “Big Game” and the heads-up tournament where you have a lot of the same players, how does that . . .

A lot of the better players in this tournament play high stakes cash games, so that’s a really good way to prepare for this kind of a tournament. Whenever you’re at a very tough table with a lot of high level players, that’s the kind of experience you need.

The way to prepare for a tougher tournament is to just seek out tougher opponents, practice against tougher opponents. The best way to prepare for tough opponents is to play against tough opponents.

You have four WSOP bracelets — Pot Limit Omaha, No Limit Hold’em and two in Razz. What is the key to being a great all-around poker player and not just a specialist?

I think playing all the games makes it fun and different, it just kind of keeps it fresh. There are so many different forms of poker, it’s great that the World Series has every different event. And now they have the mixed games and I’m happy that they’re keeping alive the (No Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Low Ball). I think that if you play all the games it can add something to your one game. You can always learn a little something in one game and apply it to the other even though they’re different.

Michael DeMichele playing in the $40,000 event sporting a new look.

The World Series of Poker isn’t all serious stuff. Here at BuffMagazine.com we’re well aware of the personalities that make this game so interesting and we wanted to find a way to deliver that to you. That’s why we’re introducing the An Orbit With Interview series. Nine questions, one to represent each hand played in a single orbit; asked of some of the biggest names in the game. Look for new Orbits each day.

Today we talked with 2008 $50,000 HORSE runner-up Michael DeMichele.

Are you looking forward to playing with Scotty Nguyen this year?

Yeah, it’s going to be a pleasure to play against him. He kind of tarnished my memory by berating me at the final table. But I think that’s kind of normal for him at this point. He also gave Erick Lindgren some chips, which I don’t think Erick had anything to do with, but it made it a little more difficult for me to come in second. You know I’m hoping there’s going to be a final table with us on TV this year. I’d love to see that.

So if you end up heads-up with Scotty are you going to order a Michelob Ultra?

I wouldn’t mind having a beer at the table, but why would I want to support Scotty’s beer? We all know we can only order Milwaukee’s Best at the table.

Do you have any prop bets going for the WSOP this year?

I’m not much of a betting man outside of poker so I don’t really have any bets going.

Lakers or Nuggets?

Oh, I would love to see Kobe vs. LeBron, but I don’t think LeBron is going to make it. But I would love to see the Nuggets play, they can sink threes all day. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the Nuggets play in the NBA Finals.

What’s your favorite pastime outside of poker?

Now that you mention basketball, I played for nine years as a kid. When I was 17 I could actually dunk a basketball. It took a seven year break from it, but this year I decided to work on my NBA 3-point shot again. I’m sinking one out of seven or eight from NBA range. Once I get up to 50% they’re going to put me right in the draft.

What’s been your worst night in Vegas?

My worst night in Vegas? Oh geez…(long pause)(laughs) Let me take a minute and think of how to word this. (another long pause) I don’t think I have any funny stories for you guys that you can print.

What do you friends from high school think of what you’re doing now?

They’ve been great. Everyone is giving me a lot of support about it. Everyone thinks it’s great that I’ve accomplished something at this level. Nobody really expected me to get into this industry. It just kind of happened. Everyone has been extremely supportive and think it’s awesome.

So you have a little different look this year, what’s going on with that?

I like to flip styles a lot. I’ll grow out the beard and then go back to shaving every day. I like to change my hair; I’ve got a lot of it and I like to come up with new designs.

I’ve been begged to ask this, are you single?

Yes, I am. I was in a relationship for about a year and a half but I’ve been single for about eight months now.

Minutes after the final bell sounded on the Bluff Online Poker Challenge we interviewed winner Brian “Sno0owman” Hawkins and found out exactly how he went about dominating the BOPC almost wire-to-wire. We also learned what he’s going to do with his $25,000 in winnings and tell you why he won’t be playing the WSOP this summer.

Well, first off congratulations are in order. You never really made this thing close.

Thanks, I really thought I was the favorite in this thing. Iwas telling my friends that even when I had just $300.

What day was it that things turned around in a big way for you?

Day 5. I was at $1,500 and got 2nd in the $50 $10,000 Guaranteed tourney and it doubled my bankroll and helped me move up stakes faster.

Right, you hold the record for best single day and worst single day. After that big score was there ever any point where you thought you might be in a bit of trouble?

Yeah for sure, it was I believe Day 11. I started the day with about $8,200 or so and ’shaundeeb’ had about $4,000 and he went on to win the $30 rebuy for just over $5,000 which moved him ahead of me.

Some of the players seemed to throw caution to the wind (not to mention proper bankroll management) and took big shots early. How much thought did you put into bankroll management at the start of this?

I took controlled risk, meaning I would play out of my bankroll a bit and took some shots, but if I lost I would move back down in stakes.

Did you concentrate solely on MTTs or did you play any sit-n-gos along the way?

I pretty much concentrated on heads-up SNGs. I knew that was where my biggest edge was. I played around 600 HU SNGs and about 40 tournaments. I made 75% of my money in the SNGs.

What was the range of stakes for HU SNGs you played? When you started playing the Challenge what level were you playing at?

I started with $25 buy-ins. The start was crucial because I was playing these with only about 8 buy-ins worth. So I couldnt afford to run bad. Fortunately I didn’t and when I got to about $500 I started taking shots at the $50s. If I lost like 2 buy-ins I would move back down to $25s until I reached the $500 mark again and rinse and repeat until I had a good run in the $50s, kept the same approach and would take shots at the next level when I had about 10 buy-ins worth. When I had a substantial lead on the field about halfway through I didnt try to push myself to move up as fast because I didn’t want to risk having any big downswings. I ended up playing a few $1,000s at the very end of the competition once I pretty much already had it won and I could afford to have a downswing if need be. Most of my play was in the $200-$300 range throughout the Challenge.

Now you mentioned that you considered yourself the favorite. Who was it that you thought would give you the best run?

Honestly at first I thought it would be ‘The Maven’. I figured he was going to grind 15 hour days everyday and would just run away with it, but I remember after like the first day he played over 150 SNGs and was up just $20 and I saw him registered for a $1 30-man SNG. Once I saw that I could tell he wasn’t gonna get anywehre too fast. I think he took too much of a conservative approach. But after the first week it was definitely shaundeeb and gbecks (Garret Beckman) that I was worried about. Both were very capable of hitting one of the Sunday Majors that Lock Poker has. I would say I was moreso worried about shaundeeb though, because he is a gambler and didn’t mind taking big shots at HU SNGs which made me a little nervous. Luckily he had a really bad run in the $1,000s and $500s which knocked him all the way down.

Now all of you guys are regularly beating up much bigger tournaments. Did you find the Challenge at all distracting from your “day job”?

No, not at all really, but I was always a lower volume player than the majority. I would say it affected me the least in the competition because usually I just play a full schedule on Sundays on all the sites and will just 1 or 2 table on Monday-Wednesday when the other sites have their $1,000 MTTs. So really I was only effected on Sunday. I pretty much had to take those days off from playing SNGs for the Challenge.

In all the HU sessions were you ever playing against other players in the Challenge. Was there any thought put into playing against the competition since a $100 win is really worth $150 on the leaderboard?

My plan was to avoid the other players in the Challenge. There are just so many fish on Lock Poker that I knew I could wait for better spots. Playing versus better players even if I still have an edge versus them can still lead to bigger swings and my goal all along was to avoid big downswings as best as I could. Shaun Deeb did sit versus me in a few $500s and $300s and he got the better of me but he’ll admit he ran pretty hot. I also played gbecks. He was at my $30 rebuy table with about 3 days left in the Challenge and I had a huge lead on everyone at that point. He made a friendly challenge to play me in a $500 HU SNG and he won it, then put a bad beat on me in the $30 rebuy to knock me out but then I got him back in a $1,000 HU SNG and decided to call it a night.

What was your biggest single MTT score?

On day 15 they had the  Sunday Major which was a $162 buy-in. I was 20th with 34 left and the servers went down so they had to chop up the prize pool which was fine by me at the time because my bankroll was $4,800 and I got around $2,000 out of the chop which was about equivelant to 9th place in that tourney. It gave me a lot more room to work with for my HU SNGs.

So since you just freerolled yourself to a $21,000 score, you got any cool plans for the money?

I’m actually at $25,000! HAHAHA. As for the money though nothing special really. Keep trying to save up for all the big live events that are gonna be upcoming for when I turn 21 and I like to donate a decent-sized portion to the government!.

How long until you turn 21 and you unleash your skills on the live scene in the US?

This August finally! Unfortunately I will be missing out on this years World Series of Poker. Oh well, I’ll be ready to collect some money in the 2010 Series.

Great job Brian. You destroyed this thing. Any last thoughts?

Thanks to everyone who put it together; Lock Poker, Dream Team Poker and of course Bluff Magazine. It was a great idea and I think it was definintely a big success and was huge for me as well to get my name out there and show everyone what I can do.

david-chicotsky

After dominating online poker in 2008, David "The Maven" Chicotsky has bigger plans ahead.

BLUFF Magazine declared 2008 the year of The Maven, at least as far as the online poker scene goes. David “The Maven” Chicotsky took home online poker’s most prestigious award with a late-December run to push him past Jon “PearlJammer” Turner and Chris “Moorman1” Moorman. Shortly after wrapping up the title we spoke with Chicotsky about his success, his drive to win the title and his future plans.

First of all, congratulations on winning BLUFF Magazine’s Online Player-of-the-Year. Did you follow the standings throughout the year?

Very much so. I was in first place for the Silver Division for a year or so in the past. I kept my eye on all the rankings and I use thepokerdb a ton! I ‘ve been in and out of bluffmagazine.com day in and day out as part of my “due diligence”, looking players’ stats up etc. The rankings always appealed to me, it’s always good to have direct competition. It helps keep you fresh.

What does winning OPOY mean for you personally and professionally?

It’s an integral part of my poker resume. I came on the scene and absolutely murdered Bodog for six figures in no time, in my first year playing tournaments. I’m an avid traveler and am looking at possibly playing poker around the world in the next couple of years. I’m willing to go the extra mile…I’m looking to continue to work hard. I think my online grinding days are behind me for the most-part

Back in November you were in third and it appeared to be between “PearlJammer” and “Moorman1” for the title. At what point did you think “I can win this”?

It wasn’t until the middle of December.

Did you start playing a greater volume of bigger buy-in tournaments? You lost the lead in the Silver rankings, but surged ahead in the Gold.

Yes, I began playing every $50 and above tournament, 15 hours per day. Pot Limit Omaha, Hi/Lo, Limit, Pot Limit Hold’em, everything! My schedule from December 16-ish on was as brutal as it gets; around 100-hour weeks.

How’d you find the increase in volume effected your performance?

Lucky for me I have an unreal support system. great girlfriend, family and friends. I didn’t sleep more than 4 or 5 hours for 15 days straight. here was a time towards the end of the month where I was laying my head down on desk and when it went “beep” I’d peak through the slits of my eyelids make the move and close my eyes for a couple extra seconds etc. I ended up having a great month, just under $40k in profit.

Tell us more about your support system and what that meant to you. Did any of them think you were crazy for playing that much around the holidays?

My girlfriend didn’t like it much, but I made her promise me that she’d help get me through the new year. We’d get in a little fight about nothing and I’d smile at her and say, “you promised”.

Did you have to make any other changes to your daily routine in order to accomplish your goal of winning OPOY?

(My girlfriend) would be in my poker office, giving me a facial, cutting my nails, brushing my hair. It was literally bang bang, wake up and play. I’d have the tournaments starting 30 minutes to an hour before i woke up. I came in late, but I still had a chance to win big bucks. I even went as far as to have private kung fu and tai chi classes with my master while I was playing. He’d come in and light incense, we’d stretch, breathe and as I always would say, “Hyptnotize me to win this; just make it happen.”

So your girlfriend was there almost every step of the way. Was there anybody else?

I live with Ari (Alan ”BodogAri” Engel)  in Las Vegas. We run a training center with pros and students everywhere. There was never a lack of support or someone to root me on at the house. Basically, I offer private lessons out of Ari Engel’s training center in Las Vegas.

Ari is an online poker legend in his own right. How did you two hook up?

I met ari in Costa Rica at Calvin Ayre’s house. We were both involved in the Calvin Ayre Wildcard Tournament. Ari was the #1 ranked online player in the world at the time. I begged him for months to train me and finally he caved in. I got 3rd in the Bodog 100k the very next week for $9k, paid off all my credit cards etc. and the rest is history

So what’s next for you? Should we expect to see you killing the live tourney soon?

I’m going to the top of the pyramid and I’m not looking back. My goal is to be playing every $10k televised event.

So you’ll focus strictly on tournaments and won’t be playing cash games?

Tournaments are just so easy, I can’t see myself leaving this area of the business.  I’m also looking to create a rather large, highly talented stable of players to enter the live and online fields. I’m going to be in there face from day one, “raising the crops” making sure they are all killers. Just like many businesses, you have to be hands on to get the most out of your product. I also want to combine knowledge and forces with the best players in the world, and bring them into Ari and my business, adding more fuel to the fire. We have world class players in and out of our training site on a constant basis.

Hello Joe! Joe we all know you by your infamous online name Hoodini10. First off, tell us how the WSOP went for you.

I kept the WSOP more low-key this year than last year. Last year, I rented a house for the summer with a few friends, and sort of over-exposed my roll to a lot of events at the WSOP. This year I knew I had to be home mid-June for my brother’s graduation from Penn State, so I made two separate trips. I went out and played a 2k and 1500 6max at the WSOP, then flew back out for the Main Event. In between I played the Borgata Summer Open which featured a 5k Main Event. It attracted a great field and it is also close to where I live in Philly. I played well all summer, but nothing major to talk about happened. WSOP was really exciting because my close friend Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki made a deep run in the Main Event. He solidified himself as a force to be reckoned with. It was great to see him have success, because we sort of play a similar style. We’ve talked through countless situations together. Hopefully I’ll get my big break soon as well!

Yes, Chris Klodnicki did have an incredible WSOP. How do you guys know each other so well?

We grew up together in Voorhees, NJ and both went to Eastern High School. We also played baseball together for a few years during childhood. We had played smaller home games recreationally throughout high school. We both started taking the game more seriously in college. He had already read some books and taught me how to think about the game in different ways. It just took off from there. After graduating college, he had qualified for the WSOP. I had just returned from Europe, where I was doing some backpacking. Chris staked me in a 1k Bellagio Cup Event, which I chopped for 70k. That was the start of my poker career. Afterwards things picked up online and I took down the FTOPS 1 Event 1. It solidified my roll to make poker a living.

You said you guys play similar styles, what is your style exactly?

CAPABLE! After having ample experience in this game, you need to have all styles available to you at anytime. I don’t like classifying my play as loose-aggressive, nitty or anything like that. Basically I like to gather as much info as I can in each situation, and just adapt to it. I have it reflect in my play at that particular table. There are so many ways to approach the game and each situation is different. As a tourney player you need to take into account your position in the tourney and its structure, as well as the surrounding players. That is why I love playing tournaments and the deep-thinking involved in certain spots.

When making the transition from online to live poker, what are the biggest differences you have found so far and what do you do to adjust?

Essentially there are no differences in the actual game, its still poker. Live poker brings along more variables to deal with obviously. Some are easier to account for than others. My approach is to just imagine myself playing an online tourney. Most of my experience is dealing with betting patterns, and the many different inflection points that are present throughout a tournament. Live poker can add so much more to your game as you feed off of what the other players give you at the table. I’m not big on live tells yet. This is mostly due to my lack of experience in the live arena. I do believe there is value in them if you are good at it. You can see your opponent and hear him talk about the game, his life, and where he’s coming from. This can add a lot of value to your game plan at each particular table. Many people give so much away and you need to stay focused and pay attention. This is a big positive about live poker. The variables that are more difficult to deal with are handling your surroundings well, and creating an atmosphere where you can remain on your game. Also, you have to stay focused for multiple days, while grinding at a live event. It takes more discipline and patience to be successful in the live arena. At the same time I believe online poker is just training for the live arena. There is greater success both financially and professionally by playing live.

Yes indeed, but you have to love just being able to play poker from your house.

Of course! Online poker gives people a chance to succeed in this great game. Many wouldn’t be exposed to the tournament arena unless they had access to a casino where a big live circuit was taking place. For this, I hope the US government regulates online poker to keep tournament poker strong, and moving into the future.

YES!  The government can make 40 billion in its first 10 yrs, if online gambling is legalized. We need it regulated and taxed, with NETELLER back!

I was just going to say, I see poker having a strong presence for years to come, and YES PLEASE BRING NETELLER BACK!!! Haha.

Do you have any advice for newbie’s on bankroll management?

Sure. I have enough experience with it as I previously mentioned because of my over-exposure to bigger live events last year. It’s hard to give general advice on how to manage someone’s finances. It all depends on that person’s goals and abilities in poker. The most important thing if someone has decided to pursue poker as a profession, is to separate their living expenses from their poker bankroll as they get going. Once the bankroll surpasses a certain point to where they are comfortable with managing things, you can then adjust your risk to what you feel is appropriate to achieve your goals. If you want just a conservative approach for MTT players, I’d say have 100 buy-ins for the level you are planning to play regularly. This should be enough to handle the variance and build thereafter. Also, many newbie’s may not be accustomed with staking deals, or swapping percentages in tournaments. My only advice on this is to make sure you conduct this type of business with people you know you can trust. You should make sure everything is mapped out so both parties are on the same page and in a position to have a successful relationship.

Here is an example, say you are an average player who won the Poker Stars Sunday Million for 200k. Should you cash out a decent amount to show for your earnings, or do you keep it all in there and play with it.

Again, this will all depend on the individuals goals for himself or herself in poker, or at the moment of their win. If you plan on pursuing tournament poker after a win like this, make sure you account for outside expenses (travel, rent, mortgage, etc). Part of being successful in this game is knowing what you are prepared for. You need to work hard to keep getting better and learn more. If you are in the right mindset, anything is possible.

Can’t you write it off your traveling expenses if you file to become a professional?

Yes, but it won’t get written off until you actually file for taxes. Meaning, you still need to have that money on the side to use. There’s a lot of overhead involved with traveling to live events. If you don’t manage your money right, it could cut seriously into profits. Well, hopefully you’re winning a lot more than that, but still.

Alright, we all know you have made a lot of money playing poker, what is the best toy you have bought for yourself?

Ha-Ha. If I had a best toy, it would be a sick car. I live in the city now, so I got rid of my previous one. I really don’t know. I just like to surround myself with nice things. I love to live and eat well too. My girlfriend, Alexis, could probably answer this question better than me (Ha-Ha)– too many trips to Gucci for me - lol.

What is the best and worst aspect of being a poker player?

I’ve been playing poker for two yrs professionally since graduating from UPenn. I can only answer from my experience. Everyone in the poker world isn’t going to have the same answer to this of course, depending on who they are. I was very serious about sports throughout my childhood, high school, and college (where I went to play baseball). Poker is an arena that allows you to be as competitive as you want, depending on how much work you put into it. When people say it’s “a hard way to make an easy living”, it’s pretty true. There is no easy way to become a successful poker player (unless you work for Absolute or Ultimate Bet, HA-HA). You will inevitably run into bumps along the way, but only the strong minded will persevere in this game. That is why I love it so much. I studied game theory as part of my Economics degree at UPenn. I get to utilize this along with other deep-seeded thoughts and strategies that I have learned along the way through playing, reading, and adapting. It allows me to never become bored with poker. Also, poker affords me to travel the world and maintain a way of life to which I chose. I answer to nobody about my finances, etc. but myself. The downside to all this is that in order to be successful in pursuing this type of “entrepreneurial” lifestyle, you need to train yourself to be very disciplined, patient and balanced. Nobody can teach you those kinds of things in a book, or on a training website. It is through hard-earned experience, dedication, and learning that the success will come. Also, you need to put in a good effort to maintain a social interaction with your family and friends away from poker.

When you are not playing poker, what are you doing in your spare time?

I really enjoy spending time with friends, traveling, playing golf, playing sports, and working out. I basically love being active. I also want to make more of an effort to read lots of books in my spare time. Learn more about investing and trading, which is what I’d probably be doing if I wasn’t pursuing poker.

If you could bust anyone or take their whole bankroll, whose would it be?

If I could take anybody’s bankroll it would have to be Bill Gates because he just has way too much money. If it had to be a poker player, I’d probably say Phil Hellmuth. It’s not because he has the most money necessarily, but because it would probably be most entertaining. Ha-Ha.

You have the radio blasting, singing in the shower to one song, what are you singing to when you think to yourself, “I’m really glad nobody is here to catch me singing this song?”

LOL. Chris Brown’s song “Forever,” I wish I could move like that. Let the ball busting begin!

You just won the WSOP and you become infamous over night. You’re in the VIP section with your entourage. Tell us who’s the hottie on your lap at Tao?

Alexis (girlfriend) won’t like this answer, but it would have to be Scarlet Johansson. She is simply amazing!

Well Joe, it’s been a very insightful interview with you and it was fun. We wish you the best of luck!

Thanks a lot Ryan, enjoyed it!

Hey Jamie!  First off, let me say thank you for taking the time to stop by and talk with us.  How has the WSOP been treating you so far?

Thank you for having me, I appreciate it.  I am having a great time at the WSOP this year.  I am not running particularly well so far, but I feel like I am very happy with the way I am playing.  I am getting a lot of business done, and I have a ton of friends out here who really make things enjoyable.

We all know you love to play No Limit Hold’em, but are there any other games you are focusing on more these days?

My favorite game for fun is PLO.  Whenever I play cash games now I play half-NLH and half-PLO.  It seems a lot of other people are excited about that game.  I hope that it is the game of the future.

I know, it seems like everyone is addicted to PLO right now.

When I have the time to play it, you can say that I am one of them. 

What do you feel is the biggest difference between PLO and NLH?

NLH was explained to me when I first started playing as hours of boredom, with moments of terror.  I actually think it is much more interesting and there is so much to learn about the game, that I love it, but I understand why someone might say that.  PLO is explained to me as the most action packed, frustrating and least boring game that you could play and I agree.

Since you have been at the WSOP, have you done any crazy prop bets?

Not this year, but I do love them.  If I do any good ones, I’ll let you know.

Can you give us an example of your best prop bet yet to date?

It was between Phil Hellmuth and I at the Bellagio Five Diamond.  After I had bluffed Tuan Le off of his Kings, on a random dead board with 5 high, Phil told me I could never bluff Tuan Le again.  Phil bet me $1,000, and then kept moving the stakes up.  I believe I did it four more times in the next couple of hours and walked away with $6k.  I am not even in Phil’s league though.  He is a truly amazing poker player.

Being a World Champ, what are the positive and negative aspects of it?

Well, I never have to wait in line…..No, in all seriousness, I am fortunate enough to be invited to some of the most exciting events in the world.  The people you meet along the way are so amazingly interesting, that life is never dull.  On the opposite side, I can be misunderstood in the press.  It doesn’t bother me as much as it does for my family, who has to read about things.  It bothers me when it bothers them.  But overall, my life has been amazing and I am thankful. 

What is the biggest misconception about you?

The biggest misconception is that I am not a kind or generous human being.  The people that really know me, they would tell you I am just the opposite.  However, I know that when you don’t know someone, it is easier to be misled.  It takes a little effort to get to actually know someone, and find out the truth about them. 

You are involved in many charities and giving back is important to you. You are becoming a big “poker philanthropist.”  Who have you been working with lately, and who do you plan on working with in the future?

I am very excited to be a new celebrity spokesperson for the MDA, ALS Division (http://www.als-mda.org/).  It is Lou Gherig’s disease that my father suffered from ,and I want to spend the rest of my life helping the MDA find a cure.  One of my dearest friends, Montel Williams, has MS, so I will continue to support his foundation.  Also, my new hero, Michael J. Fox, is doing some amazing work to find a cure for Parkinson’s disease.  I believe it will lead to so many other cures, through the legalization of stem cell research.  I am excited to take part in the Ante Up for Africa event tomorrow at the Rio, here in Las Vegas.  It has become one of the premier charity events of the year. 

We need more people like you who go out of their way to give back to charity.  Speaking of Ante Up for Africa, give us some details about that.

Annie Duke and Don Cheadle have put together an amazing event that brings poker players, celebrities, and media together for an outstanding cause.  Proceeds from the event will go to charities that provide aid and assistance, to the survivors of the crisis in Darfur, Sudan.  It will support activism dedicated to resolving this crisis.

Outside of poker what takes up most of your time?

The charity work I love, and I am still very involved in television production.  Personally, I am on an extremely healthy diet, where I have cut out processed sugar, caffeine, meat, wheat, gluten, diary, anything artificial, and very little alcohol.  I am on a quest to find the purest water, and a truly natural energy drink.  I am trying to find the kinds of foods and supplements that can reverse the toxic chemicals and pesticides, that I feel are the causes of most of the diseases that we have.

Give us an example of your daily diet.

In the morning, I have wheatgrass, along with fresh vegetable juices.  I add in omega fatty acids such as aloe vera juice and vitamin complex.  I then have my own protein combination, which usually starts with quinoa.  Midday, I will have coconut water and fresh fruit juice.  Sometimes, I will eat sushi or a piece of salmon.  Late day, I have fresh vegetable juice again, a big salad, and avocado or another piece of fish.  That is my basic diet, but of course I add in other things.   You know I add in a bowl of blueberries everyday as well.  I am doing as much research as I can to figure out what the best diet is for me, which hopefully will help a lot of other people!

You mentioned you’re still heavily involved in TV production, why have you not produced a High Stakes Show for us?

I think Mori does a great job.  I hope to come up with a show that is different, from any show that we have seen before, poker wise.  For now, I am just excited to be a part of the current slate of shows. 

What TV productions are you working on at the moment?

They are all in development.  It is a long process.  I hope by the next time we talk, I will have more to report. 

Very impressive sir!  How do you balance poker, charity, family, and business?

Things are easy to balance when you love them all. These four areas are the four loves of my life, and I can’t get enough of any area.  I am able to balance them all, because I love them all so much. Things don’t get too hard when you love them, so it’s easy to balance.

Jamie, lets say you are arriving at the red carpet premiere of a movie you produced, and you are pulling up in a stretch limo, who is in the entourage?

You never know, but I hope that my closest friends, family, and the people that I work with, would all be there to enjoy and support it with me. 

Jamie, it was a pleasure talking with you and best of luck in the future.

Ryan, thank you so much, lets try and do this again soon.

Hello Per!  Per we all know you as a big time agent for poker players, tell us about Poker Icons for people who don’t know about you.

Hi Ryan! I don’t know about being a “big time agent,” but our agency PokerIcons started up approximately two years ago.  The purpose of PokerIcons is to sign up & coming online players that we believe will make it on the live scene as well. Our first signing was Annette Obrestad with Betfair, and I think it’s safe to say that she has certainly earned it. We also have some strictly live players, but our focus is online.

So basically you sign up players and help them get sponsorships through poker sites.

Yes, we sign the talents and together we set goals and put together a branding package for the player. We are very careful about who we sign, since we know it’s not easy to get a sponsor for them. There are so many things that must match.  We also do a lot of post-contract work for the talents, making sure everything runs smoothly with their sponsor and vice versa.

Give us some details on the post contract work please.

Blogging is an example. For some players this is new, but every sponsor wants their players to blog, so sometimes we have to give the player a little gentle push to get started.  We also get offers for sponsored players from non-poker related sponsors, and then we have to negotiate with the poker site to see if we can make that happen.  We also monitor that nobody else can use the sponsor or the player in their marketing.

How many clients do you have right now?

At the moment we have 24 players.  Like I said, we are very careful about whom we sign, and we do turn down players that want us to represent them on a weekly basis.  It’s not because we want to, but there is no point in us taking on a player if we know he will not get a sponsor.  PokerIcons most recent signings were William Thorson who joined team PokerStars, and John Tabatabai joined team Betfair.

Basically you look for quality and not quantity.  Do you play a lot of poker?

Yes, you are correct. 

Do you play a lot of poker?

Not really, there is never time.  I play maybe 20 SNG’s a week.

When you are not working, what do you do in your free time?

I’m sorry, I don’t understand the question. What is this “free time” you talk about? LOL.  To be serious, I am married and have an 8 year old daughter.  There is not much free time around here. We are based in Oslo, Norway, so we work over many time zones, which kills all possibility of ever taking a day off.

I have two off the topic questions for you, first, what is your favorite sport?

Soccer is my favorite; I’m a huge Man Utd fan!

I’m assuming you liked the outcome of the Man Utd and Chelsea game

Phew! That game (and the one against Barcelona) was brutal!

If you were stranded on a desert island, but were allowed to have one hottie with you, who would it be?

Well, at some point I would want to get back to the wifey, so I’m going to pick Dolly Parton strictly for her floating devices.

You’re the first person to mention the wife, well played sir.  Per it was good speaking with you, and we wish you the best of luck in the future with Poker Icons.

Cheers Ryan, and keep up the great work! Really enjoy reading your stuff.

Hello Mr. Carson!  We all know you’re a huge online name in the poker world, and have had a great deal of success in online poker, tell us what you have been up to these days.

Well, I did just take a month off; I was in Africa for 3 weeks, before hitting up the Party Poker Million tournament.  Right now I’m just relaxing/working online, before I hit up Vegas on the 9th of June.

What were you doing in Africa?

I went with a group of people from Toronto to Malawi, to help out with a small building project, and to experience Africa.  It is something Sarah (girlfriend) and I have wanted to do for awhile, the opportunity arose and we jumped on it.

Glad to see you giving back to the community.  How did you do in the Party Poker Million tournament?

I was doing fairly well, with 45 people left; I got it all in with KK to QQ.   I pretty much had the chip lead at the time, another guy folded KQ face up after he tried to squeeze us, and the dude rivered his Q.  That was a little nasty, that’s how the live tourneys have gone lately for me.  I get deep in tourneys, but theirs not much love late.

Very unlucky.  Do you feel you are prepared for the WSOP?

Yes, I’m definitely ready for it, last year I only played in one $1500 event.  Between now and then, I think I’m in a much better position to play a bunch of tournaments, and not have any worries.  I’m looking forward to a big grind session in Vegas this summer.  There are eight of us right now that have a house for five weeks, so it’ll be a fun time.

Any events you are looking forward to in particular?

I haven’t played in a main event yet, so I think that’ll be an awesome experience.  For the most part, I’m unimpressed with the structure at the WSOP.  I think the starting chips should be better, but I guess with the large fields, the time frame would be difficult to accommodate.

What would you do if you won eight million?

I would probably invest most of it.

Smart man!

I would get one or two toys along the way though.

If you are taking a break from poker, or just relaxing around the house, what would we find rdcrsn doing?

Now that the summer is coming along, it’s nice to hit up some patios, but I’m a sports lover.  I love golfing, soccer, and mountain biking.  I just try to get outside and be active, it’s important for online players to get outside, and be away from the computer.

Wait, you’re from Canada, no hockey!?!

Heh, my father is English, so it was soccer, soccer, soccer, or I should say futbol, futbol, futbol!

Haha, who’s your favorite futbol team?

Liverpool probably, but I like to watch any of the top teams play, preferably from the Spanish or English league.  Series A is kind of boring.

What’s rocking in the iPod while you’re playing?

Good question, a lot of different stuff, I usually just download my buddies music as I’m never up to date, but I like the slower stuff.  I will listen to Bob Marley and Jack Johnson a lot.

How much luck is involved in poker?

ALOT, or maybe NONE!  Long term there is no luck.  I think luck is involved in any ONE tournament, and to make a big run, you’ll have to have some luck in a few spots.  Short term luck is more of a factor.

If you are going to bust anyone with your mad skills, who is it?

For fun, therookieqq9, just because he’s such a HUGE NIT with his roll, and I’d take his action if that ever happened. Just for the record, it won’t happen.

Angelina Jolie, Jessica Alba, Scarlett Johansson, or Megan Fox?

I’d take Alba, but I’m pretty much a married man. Heh.

Russell was a pleasure talking to you, GL at the WSOP!

Yeah, cheers dude, thank you again.

Hello Brent!  How has poker been going for you these days, or lets say after your big 278k win in the $535 on Poker Stars?

Well first off, to get it straight, I agreed to a 4 way chop, so I really won 150K outright.  I do my best to let people know I’m $130K poorer in the bank.  Since the win, I have really been thrilled with my play and results. 

Have you been strictly playing online?

90% of my play is online at the moment; however I did play in the Caesars 5k event.  Again, I played very solid; in fact I had Dario Minieri all-in within the first level.

Tell us about the hand.

I had AK, on an A-A-Q flop.  Dario was playing very active from the get go, which is to be expected.  The table was really unsure of how to adjust to his style of play.  Early on I would flat call him pre flop with a variety of hands, from AK to 10-9 off basically, not allowing him to exploit me entirely.  The rest of the table always mucked away.  He opened utg+1 to 175, with about 7K starting.  I had AK off on the hijack, I flat call, and both blinds completed.  The flop was A-A-Q.  Dario was consistently C-betting his range, on nearly any flop, however in this instance, he checked the flop, and both blinds checked as well.  I led for somewhere in the range of 515 and both blinds fold.  Dario re-raises to 2500, leaving roughly 4000 behind.  Needless to say, he snap called my shove, and showed A-10s.  The river paired another Q.

SIGH!

Literally after that, the wheels just fell off, and I ran like a crippled, mutated, version of Carl Lewis on acid!

LOL!

My bust hand was AA getting cracked by KK.  All-in pre-flop, standard stuff really, all of which nobody needs to hear about, or cares to hear about. =)

A lot of people think bad beat beats only happen to them, do you get pissed when people tell you their bad beat stories?

Haha, that’s funny you ask!  I don’t get mad, I just often wonder why?  I mean, they happen to everyone, both good and bad, from 12 year olds to 70 year olds.  I just don’t get it, bad beats make 12 year olds act well, yet 70 year olds act like they’re 12.  Glad I opted for this career choice when I did.

What are your plans for the WSOP?

I’m really excited.  Plans are quite simple really.

Brief us on them.

I have a friend, an investor if you will, who is planning on putting me in all the NLHE events.  I am clearly very excited about it, although the 1K re-buy will take some persuasion. =)  I’ve never had a “backer” before if you will, so I’m anxious to see how it all unfolds.  I am very excited to play the main. 

Hopefully it will go well for you!  What would you do with 8 million?

Jesus….I don’t know.  Buy a big house on the beach, Townsend style I guess—Got to have that ambiance around it.  Help out my family, my entiiiire family, extended included.  I don’t know, and I guess every other cliché response that most people say.

Do you spend money on toys or are you an investor?

I mix it up quite well, and keep my head on straight. I’m not your standard online poker playing degenerate, taking shots in bigger games, and prop betting for 20K on who can lose 50lbs.  I’ve kept my same car and continue investing.  I also like to spoil people a little bit—-like this girl I got from back home—whom is amazing (shout-out’s OK?)

What’s your best toy?

Definitely my golf clubs!  I love to golf, but I bought a siiick pool table for our house out here in Vegas.  It’s custom-made, 4 types of wood, and is gorgeous.  For the record, my roommates all suck—and I hope they get to read this too.  They are easy $$$!

What’s your handicap in golf?

Golf—oh man, I used to really be passionate about it.  I had probably a 5 handicap at my peak, but that’s the one damn thing that puts me on tilt!  I get so freaking pissed when I golf.  If I don’t hit the perfect draw or fade, or if I can’t check the ball up right, I lose my mind.  My poor dad had to endure me storming off the course numerous times.  It’s pathetic really, when you think about it.  All the starvation in the world, AIDS stricken victims, and I get mad about my golf game? 

I know you live in Vegas, but what’s the living situation out there?  I thought you were married, but you have roomies?!?

No man, I haven’t walked that dreadful plank into the abyss quite yet! (no offense to all you lovers out there)

Do you have a girlfriend you live with?  Only reason I ask, is when I asked you for a picture, you said you needed “your girl” to find one of you.

No, I’m just a single dude, living with 4 other pros, near Summerlin.  It’s about 3-4 miles off the strip.  That girl from home, the one I plugged above, yeah she’s trying to find a picture of my ugly ass that is appropriate.  Most people just think I am Corky from Life Goes On.  Yeah, I’m just a goofy guy, with a dream.  Oh man, seriously though that’s one thing I can’t take.

What’s that?

Back to that whole bad-beat and coolers shit.  My gosh, laugh a little bit in your life people, and just move on through it. 

Obviously you do.  Do we know any of your roomies?

Hmmm….Christ I hope not!  You should feel fortunate, they are all assholes who don’t clean shit, and piss off others.  I’m just joking with you.  I’ll plug them too; I love them all like brothers.  They are bgitty (2nd in a Sunday major), Like7 (currently crushing, and won the 500K on FTP), Luckbox11, has a sick sick mind with this game, and kobeallst who is a big Omaha player.  Also staying with us for the WSOP are USCPhildo and FU_15, and needless to say how talented those 2 players are as well.

Do you guys do a lot of prop bets? 

Oh man, we have done our fair share of betting, but seriously, I run so god damn good at everything.  It’s not even fair anymore!

Tell us some prop bets or stories.

Last summer we rented a full size RV, and we drove it all throughout the Midwest, I believe we saw somewhere around 12-15 pro events football/baseball games.  Anyways, on our 2 week excursion, I never lost CCR (credit card roulette).

You do run like god. 

Ha, yes sir!  Also, I burned $100 dollars once in a fire, but that’s because I was so out of my mind, I thought it was a scorpion.

WTF were u drunk?

Long Story, during the Nam days.  Those were the times man, the 60’s and 70’s.  I’m part of the wrong god damn generation, I’ll tell you that right now.

What do you like to do to relax? 

Long walks on the beach, listening to John Mayer, wearing brown-thong sandals, and wading in shallow creeks.  You talking about that kind of stuff?  Well toss all that shit out of the window.  I’m 100% an elitist, only listening to artists.  Well I used to golf a lot, until I realized Prozac was the only solution to my course antics.   I did in fact join a gym back in April, but I think I’ve been there only twice.  My father would be so proud. 

Basically going to the gym, listening to music, and playing golf are your hobbies.

Yes, I love watching, playing, and competing in all sports too.  I especially love basketball!  I’m 6-5 and can shoot lights out; the problem is I’m slow as molasses.

We will have a 3 pt contest for as much money as you want!

Sheiiiit, just send me your bank account while you’re at it.

Do you listen to music while you are waffle crushing?

Lol at Shaun Deeb reference, I read the Phildo interview, and I was speechless.  I listen to music constantly, and do not watch TV.  I listen from hip-hop to classic rock, to grunge, to UK stuff, and I’m a biiiig Radiohead guy.  I hate today’s rap, all the Lil Weezies, Lil Johnnies, Lil Rickies, Lil Bobbies, but I do love LILHOLDEM!  Mfkka is soooooo gooooood.  Also, I do <3 Outkast.  If I could do it all over again, I’d be in Atlanta with Big Boi and Andre, mixing fat beats.

Do you believe luck is a factor in poker, and do you have any rituals to avoid bad luck?

Well, I don’t know about that, but I don’t think using a certain shampoo brings you more luck in poker.  Do I feel that it can be helpful?  For sure, when you race off your stack at the appropriate times, I guess luck is cool to have.  A flips a flip, a snakes a snake, and cotton candy will always be cotton candy. Pretty much do your best to avoid those, “luck” spots, and the game is much easier.

Alright, if you could make anyone go broke or bust who is your number one target?

Well, I love everyone; from Deeb to Pearljammer (bitter rivalry there in case you didn’t know, the latest gossip printed in GQ).  I’d love to bust millionaires, such as Guy Laliberte.  Dustin Dirksen, I think that’s his online name.  I hear he’s just a filthy sick loaded kid, who doesn’t need money, but loves to gamble.  Fuck, I mean take Ivey for example, he’s amazing, but get him drunk, I preferred passed out drunk, and let me play for like 500K against him while he sleeps, drinks, and pukes.  I’m fine with that; I have no ethical dilemma with that. =)

Lol, you’re one crazy guy.  Say you’re a celebrity and you’re just ballin out of control. Who’s in the entourage?

Yes I am crazy! That’s a tough question.  Shooter Jennings, you know him? 

Negative.

Look him up, you’ll understand why.  I want him by my side wherever I am and same with Rick Ross.  Get that mffkka by my side.  

Not even one hottie is in the entourage?

Come on now man, you didn’t address it like that for f*** sake.  I’ll have bitches fanning me down and feeding me grapes.  Jessica Biel, Jessica Simpson, Jessica Alba, all the god damn Jessica’s will be in there.  I want Turtle as my driver from the show Entourage.

Let’s say you’re partying at Tao, you got the Dom Perignon and all your friends in the VIP, who is the lucky lady that is on your arm?

Oh man, well Melissa will be upset, sorry babe, but I got to go with Penelope Cruz.  Something about that Latina thing that makes me all ruffled like a bird.  Seriously, you see her in Blow? God damn.

Yes, she is very hot.

I got one more chick from NYC, that Eliot Sptizer was banging.  The big governor scandal jeeeeesus, where do people find hookers that nice?  Out here, they are like, gimme $15 bucks and a smoke, and ill go for 4 hours. That girl charging Eliot like $5k an hour, I think I’d pay $10k!

You mean Ashley Alexandra Dupre, I just googled it.

Brent: Lol, I was about to say…

You love hookers, huh?

Please, <—-classy guy.  I have never had a hooker, lol. 

 Well Brent, it’s been one crazy interview.  GL at the WSOP!

Thanks for having me, and look forward to kicking your ass in prop bets, take care Ryan.

Hey Matt!  Congrats on your 2nd place in the 750k on Full Tilt.  80k is definitely a nice pay day.

Thanks Ryan! 

That must be a good confidence booster before the WSOP.  You feel ready?

I do, I’ve done a lot to prepare for it, and that score is a nice boost.  It will cover probably all the buy-ins.

What tourneys are you excited about the most?

I am excited about the PLO/8, shorthanded, the mixed PLO/NLH, the PLO-Rebuy, Horse, and mostly the M.E.

What’s the living situation for you at the WSOP?

Well I’ve been living out here for three months, and renting a house with two of my friends.  I moved into a house with other friends, who are here for the duration of the Series.  Last night they all got in…it’s going to be a fun summer.

Do we know any of the other players?

Yeah, I actually have become pretty good friends with them, Jason Grey who final tabled the Aruba Classic, along with Jordan Rich who was also at the final table.  Jordan is here with his girlfriend, and Jason is here with his wife.

Are there any prop bets occurring at the moment?

Not yet, I’m sure there will be a few here and there.

You will have to keep us up to date.  When you are not playing poker, what can we find “mattyv” doing?

Well I’m usually just playing online, only on the weekends though.  During the week, I’ll be at the gym swimming or lifting, donking 1/2 NL cash games with my friends at the South Point, or watching some TV series which has already hit DVD.  I don’t like to wait a week to see the new show.

What’s the new TV series you’re hooked on now?

Well I just finished up trailer park boys, which is a mockumentary about trailer park life.  It’s insanely funny. Some other ones which I enjoyed, or I am enjoying currently are Jericho and Lost.

I like Lost too, but I want to see Entourage and The Wire (everyone’s raving about it)

Oh yeah, Entourage is by far my favorite show actually, and the Wire I just finished recently.  I enjoyed it; you should definitely check them out.

I definitely will!  So…back to poker.  In your estimation, how much luck is involved in poker, percentage-wise?

Oh, well I guess I have to share my secret with y’all, its 19% luck.

Please explain why it’s 19% luck.

Poker is a lot of short term luck. You have to get lucky in tournament poker to win tournaments, but it usually takes a lot of skill to close when you do get chips.  Luck also has a lot of factors such as getting lucky by winning your flips, and not getting unlucky (KK vs AA).  I think short-term, there is probably around 35% luck, and long-term there is about 1% luck.  The 19% was meant to bluff you, good read!

You’re too smooth sir.  If you could bust anyone or take their whole bankroll, whose would it be?

Bill Gates for sure, mmmmm that’s a lot of money.

No kidding, it would be nice to have billions. Any online players that you would like to bust specifically?

I wouldn’t really enjoy taking someone’s whole bankroll, I am competitive, but I think that would make me feel pretty bad. Plus, I play mostly MTTS so that’s hard to do. Heh.

Who do you admire these days poker wise?

The team and players I admire the most right now is Betfair’s team with Annette, Sorel, and now John Tabatabi. I think they are really the best proof of online stars becoming live stars as well.

Lets say you’re a huge celebrity and you are going to party at the Palms, who’s in the entourage?

I’d definitely bring the people who were close to me before I made it big. Here is who I’d take: my friend Ben from my home town, he would be Turtle.  He’s kind of dumb, but real fun to hang around with.  My friend Brian would be my E, because he’s got a great business mind, and he’s a pretty loyal close friend.  I would take my brother as Drama, because, well, he’s my brother.  You can come visit too of course, Ryan.

Thank you very much, I appreciate that.  You are on vacation in Fiji, and you are renting out a private bungalow, who’s the lady in your bed?

Without a doubt Scarlett Johansson, she is a hottie! 

Good call, I would probably choose her too.

Haha, nice!

It was great talking to you Matt, we wish you the best of luck at the WSOP!

Thank you for having me Ryan.

What up playboy! Congrats on the Bodog deal.  The poker life must be treating you well these days.  Tell us what’s been going on in your life.

Thank you, thank you. Life is amazing right now. I’m extremely happy to be Bodog’s newest team member; it’s something I’ve wanted for years now. It’s basically a dream come true. On top of that, I made the Caesar’s final table recently, and next week I will be moving to Vegas. I picked out a really nice condo at Panorama towers, where Bodog pros Dave Williams and Evelyn Ng also live. So yeah, life is great.

Sounds like you’re living the dream! Why are you leaving LA, I thought you loved it there?

Yeah, I do love LA, but I’m never here. I spend so much time travelling the tournament circuit that I only spend 2 months a year at home. I figure since I already spend 4 months a year in Vegas, that if I live there I get to spend an entire 6 months at home. I plan on moving back in a few years, but for the time being, I need a place to call home with my busy travel schedule.

Will you have any roommates in your new condo?

Ozzy87 will be living with me for two months during the World Series. After that I’m going to have to decide whether or not I’d prefer to live by myself. I’m only 22, and have never lived by myself before, so it would be a huge change without a roommate.

It’s nice to have space sometimes, especially if you have ever lived with loud and messy roommates.

Haha. Yeah, I’m always the anal one telling the guys here to clean up. I need to have a clean place.

Have you been playing much poker online these days, or just live?

I’ve barely played online at all so far this year, but there are no tournaments I plan on playing in May, so I’m going to be playing on Bodog a lot this month. They gave me a $3/$6 NL table named Justin Bonomo, so if anyone wants to play against me, find that table at BodogLife.com. Having a table named after me will be a great opportunity to play against and chat with all of the Bodog players. It should be a lot of fun. I’m down $20 so far this month on Bodog. I’m going to have to step up my game.

Don’t worry I will help you step up your game after this interview by giving you some key pointers.;) What events are you looking forward to playing at the WSOP?

Haha, thank you! The TV events will take first priority, but other than that, I’ll play as many tournaments as possible to increase my chances of winning a bracelet. I really really really want a bracelet, and eventually multiple.

What game would you want one in the most?

Well if I got to choose my bracelet, I would pick either the main event or the 50k HORSE. But over time, I would definitely love to have bracelets in different events, to show that I’m not a one trick pony. I think a lot of players still think of me as a NL tournament player, so a HORSE bracelet would be really cool.

Besides playing poker what do you like to do in your spare time?

I love music and have been to almost 200 concerts now!

What type of music do you listen to?

Mostly alternative rock, bands like Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, Muse, Our Lady Peace, Live, Pearl Jam, and Counting Crows. I’m also into some newer rock music, kind of the emo genre I guess, bands like Brand New and Manchester Orchestra.

Do you have a love life these days, or are you strictly business?

I’ve been single for a few months now. I travel so much that it’s hard to have a normal relationship, and I don’t go out and drink during tournaments. The last few girls I’ve dated I’ve met through poker, which is kind of odd.

Will we see 3 hot Bodog girls around your arm at the WSOP?

Haha, I hope so!

Do you have any prop bets lined up for the WSOP?

I bet “Rainkhan” a grand that the WSOP ME will have over 5,000 players. I’ve been talking to players about betting on Negreanu to win a bracelet at 5-1 odds. I’ll probably put some good action on that bet (last year Steve Sung gave me 10-1 that Hellmuth wouldn’t win a bracelet, and that paid off nicely). I’m also working on a WSOP ME bet with “Thorladen”, where I can purchase action from any player I want, for 8x the percent I buy. For example, if I want Ivey, I can pay $800 for 1% of him, and Thorladen will have to give me 1% of whatever he cashes for in the ME.

Now on to the Bluff Final Five.  What is pumping in your headphones while your pwning donkeys?

Completely depends on how I want to feel. After a bad beat, I put on something heavy and angry, like Brand New’s latest album. If I just want something relaxing, I might play something like Citizen Cope. I find music to be the perfect way to control my emotions and attention span at the table.

Do you believe luck is a factor in poker, and do you have any rituals to avoid bad luck?

Luck is certainly a huge factor, especially for a tournament player like myself, but I’m not superstitious at all. I just try to maximize my expectation, and when necessary, reduce variance. If you want good results, you should focus on playing well rather than luck. Sometimes it’s important to try and forget about how unlucky you have been recently (if that’s the case).

If you could bust anyone or take their whole bankroll, whose would it be?

Can I pick Bill Gates? I wouldn’t mind picking up a cool $50 billion.

Wouldn’t we all! How about poker wise?

There’s no one that I consider to be my nemesis or wish to go bust, so I’d just pick someone with a lot of money like Howard Lederer or Chris Ferguson. I suppose taking Phil Ivey’s bankroll heads up would give me a nice sense of accomplishment though.

Phil seems to be public enemy #1. What celebrities would you like to have in your entourage?

Calvin Ayre would certainly be cool. He’s one of the reasons I’m so happy to be on Bodog. He epitomizes the playboy lifestyle. I’m not one to get starstruck, so I’d prefer musicians that I respect, like Eddie Vedder, over the standard super famous picks most people might give you.

The final question that we always like to ask: Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Scarlett Johansson, or Giselle Bundchen?

I’ve always had a thing for Scarlett ever since I saw Lost in Translation in the theatre. I’d have to go with her. She has the perfect sexiest face IMO. The rest isn’t too shabby either.

You know she just got engaged to Ryan Reynolds.

That scumbag… you know that question above when you asked who I wanted to bust? I change my answer to Ryan Reynolds (ok actually I’ve never even heard of him, but still).

He’s in Blade and Smokin’ Aces. Ok he’s Van Wilder!

My brother was going through my DVD collection last night, and asked me if “this movie was any good?” (while holding up Van Wilder). I told him there was no way he would like that movie. ;p

Too funny. Justin, it was a fun interview, and ship us some bracelets at the WSOP. GLGLGLGL!

You’re welcome! I had a good time.