Gutenberg1

PokerRoom.com "Gutenberg1" interview – 5th September 2007. How long have you been playing poker overall? Did you get into it playing live with mates, or more specifically online? If live- how long have you been playing online? I've only been playing properly for just over 18 months, and in an entirely online capacity. I’m a Mac user, and PokerRoom.com was one of the few sites at the time I started playing to offer Mac support, so it went from there. I'd played card games such as Bridge, and, sporadically, poker with friends before, but never to any great level of competition. What would you describe your playing ability as? How well are you expecting to do at the tournament? I'm a fairly strong player online- I’m ranked in the top 50 out of 80,000 players on PokerRoom. However, I wouldn't say I'm exceptional, and I don't really know what to expect at the WSOP. What I do possess though, are two strong characteristics vital to being a good player- patience and discipline. These attributes really help online- allowing you an instant head start against less experienced players who want to get stuck into the action straight away, even when they don't have strong enough hands- so I’ll see how they also help playing live, although imagine this advantage will be diminished somewhat against experienced pros! I think it's also vital to do homework on potential opponents, and also to confront the fact that, with a few exceptions such as Phil Ivey, there will always be better players present than you. I'm expecting to have to play very well indeed to do well at the tournament, but I'm also expecting it to be fun. I just hope I avoid any of the Hendon Mob at the table draw! What tournaments have you played in before? Have you won any? What's the most amount of money you've won? I've mainly just been playing in $100 buy in tournaments, and I came 3rd in the "Big Deal" tournament after only 2 or 3 months of playing the game, winning $8,000. This was back before the online gambling ban in the US, so I was still playing against Americans. My biggest win was obviously the one which gave me a buy in to the WSOP. All in all, I'm probably about $60,000 up to date. How did you get into the WSOP? How did you reach the buy in level to qualify? Luckily just by winning the tournament mentioned before – it was a $28,000 prize with automatic buy-in to the WSOP What are you anticipating for the tournament? I'm not sure what to expect! I want to have a good first hand to help settle the nerves, and I'll be looking and hoping to make it to day two. We'll see how it goes from there! Do you have any good friends within the game? Yes, a few- mainly guys like me who have started playing poker as a second or side career. I'm good friends with the writer Victoria Coren, who is an excellent player, and won big on the European Poker Tour last year. Also Patrick Marber, the screenwriter and playwright, is a very keen player. And Anthony Holden, who has had two stints as a pro player, and famously wrote "Big Deal", all about his life playing poker, is another. The rest of the players I know only by reputation. How much of a part in your life does poker play? Do you strike an even balance between acting and poker? No! Poker is definitely just a hobby, albeit one I really love! In my day job I have very variable hours of work, which gives me a lot of free time to play poker. However, acting is most definitely my living. Do you have any general plans or ambitions for poker in the future? Not really- just to become a better player. Although I do have a bit of spare time to play, as mentioned before, I know I'll never have enough time to get to the standard of guys like Johnny Chan, who started playing when they were just kids. I just want to keep on playing and having fun, and we'll see where it takes me.