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Phil Hellmuth: Poker Mind In Depth Part VIII

[Content Disclosure: Poker Mind In Depth series]

This begins my third round of sessions with Phil, Mike and Daniel. For each of these posts I am going to lead with some Twitter comments made by each of the players. They have all engaged with the Twitter technology and this past week they have all provided some very interesting insights to launch our weekly conversation. First, Phil Hellmuth. During a fairly tough poker week that also included a trip home for this son's graduation, Phil gave us these late night comments via Twitter:

Wow, another day of running bad!! out about 300th...i am very upset! never hit a card!!!! like torture. 12 more hours of play for nothing..12:01 AM Jun 12th from txt
  1. Lying down on my back over 3 chairs in Rio WSOP Amazon poker room for 25 mins! feeling sorry for myself...i deserve to be in tourney!12:29 AM Jun 12th from txt
    Whats wrong with me? Still havent moved! 1 hour now!! I need to get up, Man Up, we all fall down!12:57 AM Jun 12th from txt
    1. Still down! I just care too much...always have...maybe always will...getting up now cause I know 1 thing-i'll be back!1:15 AM Jun 12th from txt

Shrink: "Let's begin with those feelings you expressed on Twitter the other night."

Phil: "Well I sat there for about an hour and a half. I just left the table after my bust out and went to another section of the tournament room, there was an open section still inside the tournament area and I just stretched out on three chairs. I had gotten very unlucky in two big pots and I just felt like I deserved to still be in there. But I was out, it's a very odd feeling. I just didn't want to leave the room, I was frustrated and distraught. I just needed some time, so I just laid back and took some time in the tournament room. It's not like I was suicidal or anything, I really don't have any problems with depression. I mean I probably was depressed over those hands, but you know it's nothing like any kind of problem for me. I'm lucky in that respect, I don't have to deal with depression or those kind of issues. I mean I know on some level that I am blessed with this life and being able to play poker every day. But at the same time there are those days or nights when it's just not easy to get over it."

"I think I am allowed to have those feelings and to give in to them. So that's what I did, I just took time right there in the room to feel bad about the day's poker. Later, I chided myself that I had to man up and deal with it. It wasn't like I played poorly, I was let down by the cards. I ran bad and I was out. I just ran bad, now maybe I didn't make enough moves, maybe I just played the cards. It's easy to do that, to play the cards. You just don't make the money but simply playing what you are dealt. I got unlucky in two big pots and I hadn't built up a big enough stack to survive those hands."

Shrink: "Those remarks you made on Twitter. It really did sound like a little depression. It was not the public persona of Phil Hellmuth. There was no blaming of other players or bad beats. You were talking about yourself and how you felt after a very disappointing bust out."

Phil: "Right, it wasn't about other players or even the cards. I was unlucky and I felt today I deserved better. But it happens. Some days you play great and you go out anyway. And some days you play average and you end up with a ton of chips. Then there are those days when you play really good and you have a ton of chips. Those average days when you build a stack don't happen often. You have to play well here to go deep. Today, I played well and nothing broke my way. I have only made the money once so far in the Series. Twice I blew it personally. But I think it's more frustrating when you are on and in the zone but just nothing comes your way."

"You know I had that little mix-up at Harrah's where they kicked me out of my suite earlier today. They have fixed it now but just that incident, I probably came into today's event with a bit of negativity and that is never good. But bottom-line, if I win one of those big pots, I am still in. I probably put in one too many bets in a couple of pots today. But there is another event at five."

Let's end this session with Phil's final Tweeter comment on yesterday from this morning:

Took last night completely off, watched movie "Push" (OK), had room service, lifted weights, ran, and slept 11 hours...now $1,500 NLH event.
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Previous posts in this Series:

Poker Mind In Depth Part VII:   Mike Matusow
Poker Mind In Depth Part VI: Daniel Negreanu
Poker Mind In Depth Part V:  Phil Hellmuth
Poker Mind In Depth Part IV: Daniel Negreanu
Poker Mind In Depth Part III: Daniel Negreanu
Poker Mind In Depth Part II:  Phil Hellmuth
Poker Mind In Depth Part I:   Mike Matusow
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Poker Mind In Depth Part VII: Mike Matusow

[Content Disclosure: Poker Mind In Depth series]

I caught up with Mike for our second interview on an off-day for him at the Rio. He had come in to sign some books and to play a little Chinese poker in the VIP lounge before he headed to a final table to sweat a couple of his horses in the $10,000 Mixed Game event.

Shrink: "I know you have been sticking to your plan to play only a few tournaments. Any changes?"

Mike: "Well right now I have played just three, well four with that one I double-dipped and only played the first two hours. I have taken two breaks of a couple of days between events. But a lot of that is planning to be ready and rested for tournaments I really want to play. Like tomorrow is the $10,000 Omaha 8 or better, one of my favorite events. So I could have played today but I am not fond of double-dipping even though I did it once the first week. But after the Omaha tournament, I may be playing a few more tournaments. Not every day but maybe four or five a week."

"You know it makes sense, if you are going to play a 5 PM tournament, which goes until 3 AM in the morning. Just how clear are you going to be a noon the next day to start another tournament and then jump into your day two restart at 2 PM. It's too much."

Shrink: "So you are still feeling good?'

Mike: "Well I am not having any adverse reactions to my medications which is really nice and the new one has really eliminated my depression. There are still days when I don't feel as sharp as I would like, but I can work through those times."

Shrink: "Say a little more about those less than sharp times."

Mike: "Well, you have seen that I am talking a lot at the tables. When everything is working right, I don't talk as much because I am focused on the game. When I am not as sharp, I use the table talk to sort of stay in the game. It's really not all that planned, I'm just talkative or I'm not. The quiet days are usually my best days, particularly on day ones of events. You can't be up and talking for 10 hours straight, which is how long those 5 PM tournaments play."

Shrink: "Let's talk for a moment about the promotion for your autobiography. We've done a lot already but there is more coming up. Is that affecting your game at all."

Mike: "The book signings here at the Rio are fun. I like talking with the fans and kidding with them. I was going to do four of those during the preliminary events but now I just come in an hour or two early every time I am at the Series and sit down and sign for anyone who is there. If you have a copy of the book, I am happy to autograph it for you."

Shrink: ". . . and all the radio and newspaper interviews?"

Mike: "Most of those are just phone calls. The only problem will be this "drive time" radio day. We have to get up really early for those East Coast morning shows. But I want the book to be read, so we will work it out. The promotion isn't getting in the way of my play and I am damn proud of the book. It's all good."

Mike made day two of the $10,000 Omaha 8 but busted short of the money. He also played the $3,000 HORSE two days later and today he will be in the Day Two restart of the $10,000 Deuce-to-Seven tournament. Last year this event was a $5,000 rebuy event that Mike won for his third WSOP bracelet.
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Previous posts in this Series:

Poker Mind In Depth Part VI: Daniel Negreanu
Poker Mind In Depth Part V:  Phil Hellmuth
Poker Mind In Depth Part IV: Daniel Negreanu
Poker Mind In Depth Part III: Daniel Negreanu
Poker Mind In Depth Part II:  Phil Hellmuth
Poker Mind In Depth Part I:   Mike Matusow
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Poker Mind In Depth Part VI: Daniel Negreanu

[Content Disclosure: Poker Mind In Depth series]

This post comes from a walking interview with Daniel Negreanu after the dinner break of Event #14. During dinner the event had been moved from a secondary room to the main tournament area, so we walked over to the new site and talked about Daniel's first nine events. Of the first thirteen open events (pros did not play Event #1 the casino employees event) Daniel had entered nine. Playing that many events in just over a week meant that Daniel had done some double-dipping. After busting on day one of his first four events, he then went on a run making four day twos in his next five events, which several times meant starting a new tournament while still in a day two of another.  

So the first, question was: "How are you holding up?"

Daniel: "Well this has actually been a great stretch. This could be my sixth day playing until three in the morning, which means I am going deep in each event. Usually I like to have some kind of a break, but the schedule has worked out that I am playing until 3 AM most nights. I know I have gotten a little loopy late on some of these nights."

Shrink: "You actually have twittered that late in the day you felt like you were on crack and heroin."

Daniel: "The late night's can get really long. But I am feeling very good again today, the passion is there and I am ready to play when the cards are in the air. After this I will take a break."

Shrink: "But you are holding up?"

Daniel: "You know I could never have done this last year. I would never have pushed myself like this from tournament to tournament to tournament. The preparation, especially the working out with the trainer, has made all the difference. I am not just feeling better but I am able to recover overnight. I am fine today, no matter how tired I was last night or early this morning when we finished day one of this event. I have won a lot of these limit hold'em events, so I am ready for this one." 

Shrink: "This is your ninth event out of the thirteen open tournaments so far."

Daniel: "Well I barely played in one, because of the deep run in the pot limit."

Shrink: "Right, so you have played eight and a half."

Daniel: (laughing) "But a break is coming."

Well actually, a break was not coming. Daniel made it to day three of the short-handed limit hold'em tournament (event #14) he was playing during this interview. Eleven players returned on day three and played for over eight hours down to heads up, where Daniel finished second, just short of his fifth bracelet. Did he rest on that long run or take a mental health break. No! He had already registered for event #18 the $10,000 Omaha 8 or better championship. So he jumped right into that tournament just minutes after losing the heads up battle for the bracelet. That would make it seven nights in a row of 3 AM play. He made day two of the Omaha8 event, even though he started play nearly five hours late. And! He played through yesterday's day two, his eighth 3 AM in a row.

In my next session with Daniel, we will talk about the near-bracelet and the consecutive long nights but first I am heading to the Amazon room now, where 17 players remain for the Omaha8 bracelet and Daniel still has a chair. Nearly half of the remaining field are short-stacked including Daniel, but in a split pot game anything can happen.
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Previous posts in this Series:

Poker Mind In Depth Part V:  Phil Hellmuth
Poker Mind In Depth Part IV: Daniel Negreanu
Poker Mind In Depth Part III: Daniel Negreanu
Poker Mind In Depth Part II:  Phil Hellmuth
Poker Mind In Depth Part I:   Mike Matusow
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Poker Mind In Depth Part V: Phil Hellmuth

[Content Disclosure: Poker Mind In Depth series]

Today's post marks the beginning of my sessions with the three players during the World Series. The first four posts were from pre-Series conversations. So from this point on I will give some context of where the players were in the WSOP when I sat down with them for each additional session. 

Phil Hellmuth was playing in his ninth event of the first fourteen open WSOP tournaments to this point. This count includes his participation in the Champions Invitational. Phil had so far one "in the money" finish in event #11 and was still playing in event #15.

Shrink: "So Phil how has the first week and a half of the Series been for you?"

Phil: "So far it's been amazing. Well I made two mistakes in the Deuce-to-Seven tournament and cost myself a money finish. They paid 21 and I finished 23rd. But the next day I got up worked out and ran and then meditated. While meditating I realized just how enormously blessed I am. Just the fact that I get to come down here and play every day."

"Yesterday I played until two in the morning and while I got a cash, it was disappointing to play that late and go that deep (29th) and not make a final table. But today is another day, another no limit Hold'em event. I got up earlier and thankfully my wife is now in town that is a great help to me. I worked out again and ran and the meditated. That is now my routine for every day this week."

"I just dodged a bullet, I think you heard that story. I had AK suited and a young player who had come after me earlier with AJ reraised all-in. He had about 2/3 of my stack but I just knew he had AA or KK. I asked the table what I should do and one of the other players said I should fold it. I tossed the AK on the table face-up and the kid went ballistic because the other player had told me to fold. Like I was taking advice from the table. But this is how I am feeling, when you can lay down AK or QQ because you know you are beat, that is the level to have to play at to win these tournaments."

Shrink: "Earlier this week you twittered after a bustout that it sucks every time to bust. Professional poker players may cash 20% of the tournaments if they are on their game. Winning one is an incredibly smaller percentage. How do you cope with those numbers event after event, week after week. There aren't many other jobs where you go to work and 80% or more of the time you come home with less money than when you when in."

Phil: "You have to be positive and a big part of it is thinking long term. This is not about each day or each tournament. Its a career and a long series of games, cards and tournaments. The other factor is what I said earlier. It is a privilege to be able to do this every single day. You set your sights on each event and then you go out there and kick ass. Next day, you do it again. But I tried to never lose sight of just how fortunate I am to be here doing this."

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Previous posts in this Series:

Poker Mind In Depth Part IV: Daniel Negreanu
Poker Mind In Depth Part III: Daniel Negreanu
Poker Mind In Depth Part II:  Phil Hellmuth
Poker Mind In Depth Part I:   Mike Matusow
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Gay Penguin Couple Adopts Egg


[Content Disclosure: 0% Poker, 89% Social Commentary, 54.8% Penguins]


Just in the form of personal disclosure, earlier in my life I had a great interest in penguins. I went to Antarctica in 1981 and for years I was an easy mark on birthdays and holidays for penguin gifts. A few old mugs and towels still have penguin images but I am much better now. But I do get forwarded penguin news from long-time friends and that is the source of this post. Back in '81 a scientist at one of the research stations took me on a tour of a penguin rookery and pointed out a number of homosexually bonded pairs, so this information was not new to me. What caught my eye was the final paragraph in this story.
It seems keepers at Germany's Bremerhaven zoo couldn't get two penguin parents to take care of their egg, so they're trying an experiment — they gave the egg to a gay male penguin couple.
The biological parents "always rolled the egg out of their nest, they kicked it out again and again," zoo veterinarian Joachim Schoene said.
Then they made the decision not to give it up on the egg and the potential penguin chick and instead try to give it two fathers. The experiment was a success. The two foster dads incubated the egg for 30 days until it hatched and continue to care for the newborn chick.
The male penguins, named Z and Vielpunkt, are one of three same-sex pairs of Humboldt penguins at the zoo. That means almost a third of the zoo's 20 penguins who have attempted to mate exhibit homosexual behaviour. Same-sex penguin pairs have also been observed at zoos in Japan and New York.
The behaviour is not considered unusual because homosexuality has been well documented in the animal kingdom. Scientific observation has shown that most sexual encounters between giraffes are homosexual. Male bottlenose dolphin calves often form homosexual bonds and exhibit bisexual behaviour when they're older. And female Japanese macaques, or snow monkeys, form monogamous relationships with each other that last from days to weeks. All of these behaviours have been observed in the wild and do not appear to have been influenced by a scarcity of available mates of the opposite sex.
A similar experiment was performed at New York City's Central Park Zoo in 2004. Two male chinstrap penguins named Roy and Silo incubated an egg together and raised the chick, called Tango.
A children's book written about the New York penguins called And Tango Makes Three has been the book with the most requests for removal from libraries in the United States over the past three years, according the American Library Association.

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Poker Mind In Depth Part IV: Daniel Negreanu

[Content Disclosure: Poker Mind In Depth series]

This is a continuation of my first pre-Series session with Daniel Negreanu. One of my concerns in asking Daniel to participate in this series was that he is by far the most prolific writer among the big name professional poker players. Not only does he write a lot, but he includes a great deal of personal information and insight about not just poker but also his life. Which means, Daniel is a great subject but like Mike Matusow, he has already done a lot of personal exposure in the poker press. In fact, the three players who are the best known by the poker fans are: Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu and Mike Matusow, my subjects for this series. So in light of this I asked Daniel:

Shrink: "You write often about your life away from poker, is there an element of therapy or even a public confessional in your writing?"

Daniel: "Absolutely yes. I learned fairly early that as a public figure, every thing I did would be observed and commented on. So my philosophy is to admit or recognize my mistakes and to put them and myself out there. There is a kind of defusing that happens when I am the first one to admit I made a bad decision. I do keep the personal revelations limited to myself. If friends are involved I either leave them out of the story or I don't tell it. They have the right to privacy even when there are with a notorious talker like me. But other than that, I am an open book and that seems to work better for me."

Shrink: "I want to ask about your preparation for the Series this year. First, have you done anything different."

Daniel: "Well, I have said for years that I was going to get in better physical shape before the World Series. This year, I did it. I started early in January. I got a trainer and have worked out continually since then. I do feel healthy and stronger. I hope that translate into better performance this summer."

Shrink: "OK, now let me put those first two questions together. You are a new adopter of Tweeter and over the past month or so you have been partying a bit."

Daniel (laughter).

Shrink: "I have recently reread your 2002 articles* on alcohol and poker. Would you like to make an updated 2009 comment on that subject?"

Daniel: "Sure. I have been doing a bit of partying. Phil, Eric and I have sort of been getting it out of our systems because during the World Series it's all business. So there is just the element of relaxation before the big summer. But I also know I did go a bit overboard on my own and some of that is guilt over my Mom. You know she had a stroke and she is back in Canada. I would really like to be there with her but I am in Las Vegas playing poker. Now I know her, she is old school. If I even tried to skip the Series to be with her... well she just wouldn't allow it. She wants me here doing what I do. But that doesn't alleviate the guilt of not being with her. But I hopefully have that all straightened out. She is in no danger and is doing as well as can be expected. I was with her a few days ago and will be back there as soon as the Series is over."

Shrink: "That takes us back to what you said earlier about dealing with the fans, when they don't know if something has gone wrong with your day. I assume your Mom's health issues are always with you but you not only play poker but you deal with the fans the same as you always have."

Daniel: "Right exactly. If I am a public figure then I am going to be the best I can be in that role, including giving the poker fans my time when they ask for a picture or autograph."

*Here are the links to three articles Daniel wrote on poker and alcohol back in 2002. I strongly recommend them for any player who even thinks they are experiencing problems with their game or their life due to alcohol use.
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Previous posts in this Series:

Poker Mind In Depth Part III: Daniel Negreanu
Poker Mind In Depth Part II:  Phil Hellmuth
Poker Mind In Depth Part I:   Mike Matusow
Labels: , , ,

Bouncing Around Las Vegas


[Content Disclosure: 100% Las Vegas]

Beyond the World Series of Poker lies the whole, big, bright city of Las Vegas. Here are a few on the more or less interesting encounters I have had beyond the Amazon room at the Rio.

I was listening to a local radio talk show on which a local banker was saying that most financial institutions in Clark County are now holding back as much as 80% or more of their foreclosed real estate because of the depressed market. At one point he ventured that the Las Vegas valley may have 6 to 8 years of back inventory in the residential real estate market.

Then I took a seat at a poker table at the Orleans and the table topic was the recovery of the housing market in Las Vegas, including:

"This city always bounces back faster then all the others."

"Prices are already going up on houses, now is the time to buy."

I'm just saying, there are a lot of experts at the poker table; but there may be better places to get your financial advice.
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Another table and another expert told us that all of those "abandoned projects on the Strip" had been "secretly bought up by the Chinese" and that they were going to do to us what the Japanese did in the 80's. I resisted pointing out to him just how well that had worked out for the Japanese investors. Remember Rockefeller Center and Pebble Beach, really successful investments those were. For those who have forgotten, the financial invasion of Rockefeller Center happened in 1989, they walked away from their two billion dollar investment in 1995.
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Best Improved Line: Years ago I was playing a tournament at Canterbury Park in Minnesota. On the dinner break the casino provided a player's buffet. When we got to the sushi, the kid in front of me asked about how good it was and I said: "Never eat sushi when the nearest ocean is more than a thousand miles away."

Well yesterday, I was in a restaurant known for its sushi and overheard this exchange:

"Why the hell would you order raw ocean fish when you are in the desert?"

"You know Harry, you're right. I'll have the baked desert tortoise with the grilled scorpion appetizer."
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And lastly, the best explanation of the bad, lousy, stupid, insane, out-of-date, poorly planned and miserably executed departing flight security at McCarran Airport.

"You know how they charge you on the bridges and tunnels coming into New York City but it is free to leave. Same as San Francisco, Golden Gate is five bucks inbound, out is free. They  want you to leave."

"In Las Vegas, they want you to stay. So when 3 AM rolls around and you think, you know we should just pack and head to the airport. But wait, no one wants to get in those stupid security lines. Hell what's one more night."

Of course, I heard this at 2 AM in a bar. Methinks the guy with this trenchant analysis was trying to get one more day in Vegas out of the wife.
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Poker rooms I have played this summer:

Orleans -- Omaha8
Tuscany -- NLHE tournament
Binions -- Omaha8 tournament
Flamingo -- NLHE
M Resort -- NLHE 
Venetian -- Omaha8 
SouthPoint -- Limit HE 
M Resort -- Limit HE 
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