PokerSchoolOnline Live Tour

NewJane Interviews Bobbyg99, one of the Top PSO Finishers at the Summer Big One event 2005

NewJane: Congratulations on your excellent finish at the Live Tour event! Tell us about the event that qualified you for the Live Tour Final tourney next year.

Bobbyg99: It was the final table playoff for the Summer Big One event 2005. I hadn't played PSO much the previous months and I was in a slump in my game. So I started playing again in Late July and August to work on some weaknesses in my game. I did not qualify for the big one so I played in a last chance tourney and finished with an "X" qualification. I played fairly well in the Big One and my real goal was to make it to the final table with only an X qualification. I did and then finished in the top four the following week in the playoff.

NewJane: Tell us some interesting facts about your life, such as place of employment, family matters, hobbies, or educational background.

Bobbyg99: Well, I have been married to a great girl for 10 years, Sandy. And we have two great kids, Mikayla 5, who incidentally started kindergarten a few weeks ago and Brett 3 who has a great sense of humor. I am a Regional Sales Manager for a locomotive parts manufacturer and have a Bachelors Degree in Electronics Engineering Technology and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA). I spend the majority of the summer at the lake relaxing. I have taught my kids how to play WAR and a little about cards on the cloudy days out at the lake.

NewJane: Give us a little glimpse into your poker background. How long have you played? Do you prefer online play or live? Where is your favorite place to play live? Do you like tournaments or ring games? What is your game of choice?

Bobbyg99: I've been playing seriously for about a year or so but I learned hand rankings and how to play 7-stud and 5 draw from my dad when I was 10 years old. At family parties we would sit around and play no folding poker and go for the 2 -outer. At the time I thought I had a chance. I still play with my dad and his friends and see how they play and feel bad that I found PSO and they didn't. I prefer live home games for the social part of the game but online is so much more convenient. I've been to Canterbury in MN a few times on business trips and really like their setup. But at home when I can get away I usually go over to Trump in Indiana. Texas Hold'em is my game of choice.

NewJane: How long have you been a member of PSO?

Bobbyg99: About a year and a half, I think.

NewJane: What do you think was your greatest strength in the tourney? Your biggest weakness?

Bobbyg99: My greatest strength in tournaments is usually my patience. My biggest weakness is keeping focus especially at home with the kids running around.

NewJane: Do you remember any key hands you want to tell us about? Positive or Negative outcomes…

Bobbyg99: No, I don't. I remember making the kids a PBJ sandwich at one point and coming back to the computer with another player out.

NewJane: What are some of the differences you notice in online play as opposed to live play?

Bobbyg99: Bluffing and calling to see if someone is bluffing is way more prevalent online. The other difference is that online rude comments are made when people play unusual hands. During live play people are not as mouthy. I do not understand why people make such rude comments, when someone wins with 9-2os after calling a big raise. If you make the right decisions, the odds will run in the better players favor over time. I read an interesting quote playing online once when player A was giving player B a hard time about the cards that player B was playing. Player C told player A "don't tap the glass." I thought that was right on.

NewJane: If you could have dinner with any current poker tourney pro, who would it be and what would be the question you would ask first?

Bobbyg99: Stu Unger would be the person I would like to have dinner with if he were still around and I would like to know what was going through his head at times. But currently... I am not really sure who, but my question would be to almost any of the current pros about backers and how the whole system of backing players works. I can't believe that some of these folks have enough money to enter all of the tournaments they do, with travel expenses and other bills and still make a profit.

NewJane: What poker books have helped your game?

Bobbyg99: As I am at the Philadelphia Airport answering these questions I don't have the names of some of the books but I have read Sklansky, Harrington, Caro, Psychology of Poker, and most recently I have read a little about a Dr Ekman. Ekman has done research on split second facial expressions. He doesn't have much to do with Poker itself but the two are related. Recently I am more interested in the subtleties of the game more so that the strategy.

NewJane: What new poker games are you interested in learning?

Bobbyg99: If I had time I would try to learn the right way to play 7 card stud and Omaha. I know the basics but cant seem to win consistently at either one.

NewJane: Here is your chance to address anything I neglected to ask that you are dying to share.

Bobbyg99: I just want to thank PSO for the opportunity and they have been a great tool in my poker education. Good luck to all and see you at the tables.

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