How much money have you saved since Online poker got shut down?
I transferred my last $80 on FTP to Angel to bet on black at the casino. He informed me that I lost. So, I would have naturally deposited another $50 and in turn, ran that up to around $55, then lost it all. Then I would have reloaded again. I would guess since Friday, I have saved around $450. But, since I don’t have online poker anymore, i am extremely bored and have since spent over $1500 on various illegal endeavors.

Those intruders in their homes have names? Some call them Kids, and others call them Mom/Dad/Honey…
Honestly I am scared to death about what this question means and wonder how much meth the interviewer has inhaled to come up with such a psycho question. I live with my girlfriend Kelly and I have not seen any intruders in my home.

When they stepped outside did the sun melt off their skin? Did they get the vampire effect?
Again, another scary question that makes about as much sense as a gaggle of coked up geese selling cookies to gimps.

Is their ability to make money playing online poker myopia equal to lets say Charlie Sheen thinking he’s normal?
I don’t know what myopia means and I’m too fucking lazy to google it. Charlie Sheen has Goddesses, cocaine, no teeth and millions of dollars. I have Kelly, teeth and tens of dollars. You tell me.

Why is chicke nmeth so addictive, especially among online poker players?
A bit of history, Chicken meth was introduced in Arkansas by Jeremy Allen. It’s a combination of meth, chicken shit and feathers. It gives one the ability to 5bet shove 73o into AA and see a 773 flop. Or at least that’s what chicken meth benders will trick your mind into seeing.

On the evolutionary poker scale, where would you place IBGPN?
I would place him at the bottom of the scale. Somewhere between a single celled organism and tadpole. While he can swim with the sharks, he’s often overlooked as his bank roll rarely goes above the $1 mark. His most frequent sightings have the word (OBSERVER) after his name.

I just had a cup of tea and a grilled cheese sandwich. Comments?
You must be gay or British.

What is the background on your twitter name, GI Joe Valdez? Big into kids and toys? Was Snake Eyes the coolest “Joe”? Why not the nickname, El Burro?
I was in the Army for 8 years and was pretty crazy. One time one of the older guys said “slow your roll gijoe and take it easy” and it stuck since then some called me gijoe. After I got out of the Army I created an email with that name. Nothing glorious about it but it has stuck. Now most people that don’t know my real name call me Joe.

Why did you start the OPT?
Other players and I used to be a part of another online poker team but they were jerks when it came time to play. If you lost they were all over you, and put a lot of pressure for you to finish out your allotment. Talked to a couple of other unhappy players and they suggested I start my own. I did and took it from there. I made it a lot of fun to be a part of this team with zero drama and been very lucky so far.

Has this endeavor been profitable?
The OPT: Yes, when we first started The OPT share were sold at $5 each. Now they are close to $6, and when we started I begged players to join we now have a waiting list and its not as easy to get in.
Full time poker pro: I’m on day 3 and if I continue min cashing in this fashion I will be broke sooner then 2 weeks.

What are your plans if you do not find a job when your bankroll runs out next week?
I been lucky to have made a lot of final tables in my online poker career so I paid close attention to all the rail beggars. Noted all their sappy questions and how they get players to ship them money. Its better then standing by the freeway with a sign. I can beg from home. Just open up a final table and go to work.

If you were a “pro” who would you like to sponsor you?
Some whale that doesn’t care if they lose money. Mike Matusow is probably the biggest candidate. I’ve seen him stake some really bad players in the Main event so I figured I can’t do any worse.

What is the square root of 9?
There is a square in 9? Had to Google that. 3 it says.

What is your favorite poker game? Cash/tourney? The most you have ever won and lost?
Favorite game are Super Turbos MTT, 2nd favorite are Rush games, 3rd are deepstack/double stack MTT’s. I don’t play cash games at all, but when I have I’ve done pretty well. The most I have won in an MTT has been $3300 on Pokerstars, and $2200 several times on Fulltilt. The most I’ve lost in an MTT online was $110 and in cash game $77 I think. Live game I spent $125 to play a sat which I won. That gave me $1100 to play a wsopc event. I didn’t cash so that sucked. I’m a bankroll nit so…

Noob

Was it a good or bad decision, on my part, to allow Street3 into this interview? Explain this.
Its always good to let Street3 into any conversation with you. He will make you look good. You could be picking your nose live on TV and no one will notice anything but his big forehead. See attached pic… space is available for advertisement on his forehead so he says…

Check/Call or Bet/Fold? Why?
Both.
Check/call: when using pot control. If you have top pair and weak kicker or fear other player flopped bigger hand.
Bet/fold: is what I use when in agro mode and I use it vs any number of opponents. You get so much information by throwing out a bet. At best they all fold or 1 calls the rest fold, and at worse case scenario they all fold and 1 re-raises you, or they all call.

What piece of advice would you give a first time online poker player?
Don’t get started. QUIT! Turn around and go play checkers. But if he really doesn’t like that advice I suggest getting some proper training or a solid coach, read up on the game, have a nice bankroll to back you up, set your priorities, and stick to a routine. I’ve seen a lot of players go on tilt in poker but it doesn’t stop there. Usually that carries across there other parts of their life and they crash and burn. There are a lot of stories on the news about gamblers robbing some casino, held up another player, or held up a bank or convenience store. If you aren’t patient in life you will definitely not succeed in poker. While this game skill has 70% of chance the other 30% is lady luck’s doing and she’s a cold hart bitch. If you aren’t ready for the losses or can’t handle it then don’t get started. This game is filled with skilled and solid players, and it takes time for a noob to get there. This game can be a lot of fun just don’t let it get you down.

The first lob…do you play poker professionally? Or are you like me, someone that plays recreationally, enjoys the game, but really doesn’t throw much money out there?
For me personally, I’m a part-time player at best. Playing online has always been a point of frustration for me, I’m much more prone to sit down at a table, look other players in the eye and go for it. From my standpoint it’s not about me as a poker player but rather the knowledge we’ve gained from a variety of environments that allows us to understand the stressors experienced during online play.

OK, to the real questions. How long has this software been in development? Who masterminded it?
The concept for this particular solution developed almost a year ago and has been in active development for the past six months. We have been working in a few closed communities for several years across the Department of Defense on a variety of programs that generated an enormous amount of data for individuals operating in high-stress environments. Along the way we began to experiment in other markets and decided to introduce this solution to the online poker community first. The functional concepts of our programs have been mine but over the past year we’ve added some phenomenal members to our team that continues grow our solutions into rock-solid products.

I understand that this software tracks your stress levels when making a poker decision. How do you use this data? Online, in real life, both?
The first is the live play or active data. Being able to see the rise in your stress levels and take immediate corrective actions is a major shift in how most people function. The second is the opportunity to truly identify the actual point of stress. In many circumstances, what someone believes is the stressor, is actually what we refer to as a compounding event. The stressor may have occurred earlier and with the analysis tools, you will be able to put your finger on it. Because we are involved in so many areas, we are firm believers that the knowledge gained through use of the system applies throughout life. Understanding the specific point of stress, how you react, function and make decisions will naturally bleed over into several other areas of life.

We like to make this comparison. When the first vehicles came out seatbelts weren’t even a consideration. But over time, people began to clearly understand the risks associated with driving and required measures of protection. EDGE-Poker is the first “seatbelt” in the poker market where people put themselves, or in this case, their money and reputation at risk.

Have you tested this out on poker players and how have the results been? All poker variants, or mostly hold’em?
We have built a team of players that have been using and testing our program. They have ranged from those who consider themselves online pro’s to part-time players and included most of the games associated with online play (i.e. hold’em, Omaha, etc.). The results have been as we predicated. The players have been able to identify specific points of stress, apply the techniques offered by the system and shifted there individual stress response. We asked them to keep logs of their days and track the normal stresses of life as well.

What surprises have you encountered among players when testing this software?
From our standpoint there haven’t been very many surprises but there has been a significant amount of validation. It has been exciting to see the science in action. The understanding that the mind can only focus on five to nine simultaneous events at a given time has shown time and again when players continue to add more tables to their sessions. When one or more tables require attention and effort is given to manage all, the stress indicators light up. We’ve seen persistent stressors and impact of minor, consistent losses mount over a time period resulting in an increased stress profile that would only truly be identified through use of a tool such as EDGE-Poker.

Where do you see this software going in the next version(s)?
We have a few ideas of where this whole process is headed. Our decision to launch the BETA version this month was out of respect for the community. While we can stay behind closed doors and develop a solution we think is perfect, the real value and inspiration for feature improvement will come from the masses. We trust the players to drive the features of the next version.

Do you have any spokesperson for the software? Any online sites looking to work with the company?
We have not moved in normal fashion to find the “face” of EDGE-Poker. I think that will come as the software takes hold in the community. It’s our intention to let the value speak for itself rather than engage in personality-based marketing. Our belief is that EDGE-Poker won’t be just another flash in the pan but rather a persistent solution that begins to shift how users play. We know it will change behaviors, improve decision-making and increase your personal odds of success and we want the community to speak to that.

Do you have other software pertaining to poker in the works?
I think it’s important to understand we are not a “poker” company; we’re a Human Performance company. Our core process is one that builds software driven by the individual person. There’s no “system reset” until you’ve achieved the ability to reset yourself. When we look at our products, there are so many possibilities. It’s why we love what we do!

Why did you start the Best Poker Sites website?
I used to run a small network of poker sites, but I sold them all earlier this year. I had plans to leave the poker industry entirely, but I decided to do one more site.

What would make the Best Poker Sites website a success?
I would consider the site a success if I could get a loyal following of readers at our poker news blog, build out the strategy section a little bit more, and add to/refine the poker toplists section, so that every sort of online poker player can receive good advice on where to play.

What has been the biggest surprise since you started the website?
I had forgotten how long it takes for a new poker site to start receiving significant traffic from Google. All of my old sites were fairly well established and received a fair amount of traffic, but the first six months with this site were discouraging as I felt like I was adding useful, unique content, but nobody was reading it. The past two months have been a lot better.

Do you play a lot of online poker? What is your game? Stakes?
When I was younger I was pretty hardcore into the $10-$50 SNGs at PokerStars as well as the $20 180-mans, but now I am a little busier so I play mostly recreationally. When I do play I usually get a couple hundred hands of Rush Poker in before I get back to work.

Have you tried any of the training sites or read any books to improve your game?
When I first started I read a TON of books… Super System I/II, Mike Caro’s Tells book, a lot of the Slansky books, as well as a lot of the books that the pros wrote (or just put their name on) that weren’t so great. As far as the training sites go, I have accounts at most of them as I have reviewed a lot of sites, and they really are helpful even if you are just a casual player.

What poker websites do you frequent the most?
I do a “Weekly Roundup” every Friday on the news blog, so I spend a lot of time throughout the week reading sites like PokerNews.com, PokerListings.com, and PokerNewsDaily.com so I can find interesting stories to highlight. Besides those I like to follow the PocketFives forum and check up on the CardPlayer POY rankings from time to time.

Do you have a favorite poker pro? Or one you despise?
I’m sure a lot of people would answer this the same way, but I really like Phil Ivey. I’ve always enjoyed watching teams/individuals who completely dominate their sport, and it’s fun to follow his results. I don’t really despise any pros, but I guess I’d say any of those guys who played the WSOP Ladies’ Event this year – I thought that was pretty low.

What online poker site offers the best bonus and/or rakeback at this time?
If you are looking for upgraded sign-up/reload bonuses I would definitely check out PokerListings, as they almost always offer something that is above and beyond sites’ normal bonuses. Most poker rooms cap rakeback at a certain percentage, so almost all of the rakeback sites offer the same deal. However, if you’re a high-volume rakeback guy I would check out the bigger rakeback sites like RaketheRake.com because they will always offer “rake races” in addition to the maximum allowed rakeback percentage.

What advice can you give to a beginning player trying out an online site? What advice/steps can you give a beginner trying to maintain and build a bankroll?
I would advise them to stick to one of the two major sites (Stars or FTP) and start slow. A lot of new players who have won a few bucks at a home game like to deposit a couple hundred dollars and figure they’re about to start printing money, but more likely than not they end up redepositing in a few days.

Even if you are winning at your local casinos, I would start playing online at half the stakes you normally play live. If you need more action you can always multi-table.

Do you have anything else you would like to share with us? Random or not.
Not really, you asked some great questions. Keep up the good work, your site is looking good!

So, Mr. Taylor.  Or Swyyft.  Or Taylor Swyyft.  You are known as “swyyft” on all poker sites and twitter and god knows what else.  Where did you get that name?
Because of how fast I can blow Mrs. Carse’s face.  Naw, just kidding (sort of), I got it when I was playing football. I am a big guy. I am not quick however. In fact out of 100 people playing football I was often one of the 3 slowest. They nicknamed me Big Swift because of how slow I was as a sort of ironical nick name. The coaches found this out and laughed and just started calling me swift for fun. When I started getting into Online Gaming and names, I wanted the name swift because It was what every one called me. However being quite common place I decided to use yy instead of I because it looked cool. (Still does IMO) thus Swyyft was born. I know its always available so and since i do not want have 30 different logins I just kept using it. It has been with me for about 9 years now.
 
Okay, now that that nonsense is out of the way, let’s talk poker.  Online or live and why?
I prefer online. I am not a big live person, I think live is fun but a lot of my game is about isolating a player. This is quite a bit harder live than it is online. A lot of people come along for the ride. It does not fit my game well. I am also ok losing several buy ins before making moves. I like to gamble and be aggressive early and set a tone to get big hands paid off later. You do not do this as much in a live game. It can also get boring to me, I get distracted easily. I however can give the same stare to these players when they do something stupid that Kobe Bryant and Peyton Manning give their teammates when they lose the game for him.

I prefer online for several reasons, You can multi table like no other. This means constant action. It also allows me to keep my variance as low as possible even though due to my style I am a high variance player. I have had +15k+ months and -10k Months. Great example is I was +3k one week this month and then down 2k the next week. The downswings really have nothing to do with the cards though and more to do with how focused I am at the game. When I am on top of my game I feel I can hang in almost every tournament. Last night I went deep in a tourney. (Busted 45th or so of 1999 players) Not because of my cards. I got AJ 3x and 88 and 77. Other than that I got no good hand out of 132 hands or so after the bubble broke. Going from 300th to 45th when I was a mid stack at 300th is quite hard when you go card dead. I was able to get someone to call off 30 BB with A8 vs my AJ and I 4 Bet shoved 2 times with KJ and J6 and both times got the 3 better to fold. I had no doubt they were folding based on exact reads. One guy folded TT vs my J6 and not sure what the other guy folded. Being able to chip up and add 15+ big blinds to my stack with nothing on good reads is what my game is all about. The problem with making plays like these is I am not always right. Which causes variance. the guy could have called off 45 bb with TT and Ko’d me in the tourney and no one would have thought much about it.

I ended up not final tabling because I just ran bad. I had a couple big pots go the other way. One was one where I was sure I was ahead unless the flush hit and then I had no idea. The flush did hit and he checked it down and I found out his AJ beat my A9 on an 8 board. Another one was a limp pot where a guy limped AK, the flop came Q23. I bet and he eventually 3 outted me later on. These too cost me to go from 7th in chips to 35th with about 46 left. Eventually I got it in AQ vs TT and lost a flip for a top 3 stack. If I win that flip I feel confident I can use my advantage to final table.
 
Cash/SNG/MTT? 9 handed or 6 max?
6 Max for sure. I think more flaws in your game are exposed in 6 max, which I can usually take advantage of. It’s pretty easy to hide flaws in a 9 max table. You do not get nearly as many blind vs blind/button situations which is a weakness for most players. People defend too much etc. I like both Cash and MTT, although I am not a winning player in NLHE cash games. I prefer PLO cash because the game is best played 100 big blinds deep, but what happens when you play good players is that it ends up being 200 big blinds deep once people lost buy ins and money gets traded around. That’s when the game becomes super intense and really becomes a thinking game. I like NLHE MTT though because they are the softest usually with people having no experience how to play the latter stages. Also I am a winning player at it lol.
 
How did you get your start playing poker?

3 Things.

1. Coke Binge,
2. Bad Black Jack Run, and
3. Needed to kill 3 hours while the hooker was coming down back in the suite at the Venetian.

 
Who is better, you or widmayer?  Me or widmayer?  Me or you?  Me or anyone else?  Me or a dead donkey?  A dead donkey or a crippled blind fucktard? Me or a crippled blind fucktard?  Me or a rock?
You know, results wise I am quite a bit better, but the times I play my best, are when we are both playing and talking hands out. He provides a lot of insight and keeps me from doing stupid things. He is not afraid to tell me when I am playing bad and when my risk level of how I play goes too high and I need to tighten up and play better.

I think at times you play just as well as him but I think you have some leaks in your game. I do not think you exploit him as much as he exploits you. If you are sitting down at a 9 handed cash game table its tough to say who comes out on top. If you sitting down at a final table with 9 left and short stacks all around I think he is going to come out on top.

I think you are better than you think you are, I just don’t think you have confidence sometimes when you are playing against other good players you should have. I think you don’t stop and think about what you are doing. I think if you just quit doing anything instantly and thought out every hand out late in Tourneys and SNG you would get better. Always think about what you have and what they have and apply it to the hand. Don’t just snap doing things. Always let the FTP clock start, telling you, you have 15 seconds left and you will definitely start getting better results. Sometimes I watch you and know you have no idea if you are good or not and you just bet at it instead of thinking about it and betting at it confidently.
 
Online poker is RIGGGGGGGGED?  True or False and why?
False, there are a ridiculous amount of analytical programs out there and I even use one once in a while. The numbers come out exactly how they should. I think players just are not good enough when it comes to online and don’t adjust properly to the online games. Just because you can crush your home game or go to your local casino and win at 2/5 does not mean you can get online and beat 100 Max like that. The online games are much more fierce. The great players know where they stand as far as other players go. So many bad players never go out and learn the game and learn just how deep the game goes. They simply look at their cards and decide they have the best hand they should win all the time. One of the reasons these players never get sick results and are always losing is because they rely on big hands to build a stack. They might always be getting it in as a 70/30 but they also might be doing it for their tourney life every time. 
 
What’s your biggest cash?
$8500. I finished 3rd in the 10RA 80k on stars. 
 
Boobs or Ass?  Examples of each are provided.
Ass fo sure. Its way more fun in the long run. But I really don’t care. I can have fun with both. Butt sex with girls is always fun though. Or in your case butt sex with dudes.
 
You have lived all across the United States.  Which city/state has the best/worst women and why?
When I rate the states I rate them by how easily it is for me to bang hot girls.

1. LA. LA has some ridiculously hot women. Like off the charts smoking hot. There are 2 scales you use to define women. The 1-10 scale and the LA 1-10 scale. LA is nothing but 9s from the south/midwest/east that come out here and realizes they are a 6. Everyone who told them they were pretty back in there home towns has never seen the level of attractiveness LA girls have. You look on TV an see these smoking hot girls on TV shows. Like every tv show has attractive people. It’s not like they are using the only attractive people in the city. Those people make up 1% of the attractive females. If you go to a casting for a show like The OC, There are nothing but girls just as attractive as Mischa Barton. 100s lined up. This allows guys like me, pull tail so far out of my league its not funny. I don’t think I could go back to living in a city where I had to hook up with average girls. The problem with attractive girls in smaller cities is that they are all stuck up cause every guy hits on them and they get used to it.
2. Miami. Miami might overtake LA one day and is for sure ahead of it in natural  beauty and pleasantness. Miami gets a lot of South American women who are in my opinion the most attractive women in the world. If I had to find a wife tomorrow I am finding some Colombian/Argentian/Brazillian in Miami and going to have as many kids as possible. Also Miami is somehow chiller than LA. The problem is, its humid as fuck so I cant deal with that.
3. Let me start by saying the drop off from 2 to 3 is pretty ridiculous. But Dallas has some smoking hot girls, Same with Austin because of UT. These girls get bonus points because they are wholesome and fun loving. Also I like dominant loud women so Texas is full of them.
4. San Diego. San Diego is a chill place with a lot of smoking hot girls. Its a beach town so everyone is in crazy shape. One time we were down there and my friends hooked up with these really good looking 38 year old broads. They were day tripping from LA. Long story short. They needed a place to stay, but we really did not want to put up with them overnight. So we made them sleep on the streets of San Diego downtown cause they had no money. Lol.  widmayer can verify to this story.
5. Idaho and Utah have some smoking hot girls. And they wholesome. Unlike most of the other cities I mentioned. Its because they are Mormon and don’t really destroy their bodies trying to dick. They are also very naive which works out. They love out of towners because they can keep the veil of innocence because no one will find anything out. I know a lot of people who frequent these places call the women in Idaho. I-Da-Hoes. These girls get all that tension out on you, if you are just visiting for business/pleasure. I spent some decent time in Sand Point, Park City and Coeur D’Alene in Utah and Idaho and have some decent stories we will get into another time. Again Me pulling tail out of my league.

5 worst.*

1. Pennsylvania. I dare you to think of a hot girl you know from Pennsylvania.
2. New England States. I dare you to find me a hot blonde who sports a Red Sox hat Pre 2004.
3. Iowa, I went to visit my parents and did not want to bang one girl the whole time I was there.
4. Oregon/Washington Even the big cities have a hard time representing. Women are too outdoorsy and manly.
5. Oklahoma. Girls allow you to sleep with them there, thus the risk of crossing bodily fluids with @street3 through 6 degrees of separation is way to high.

* Alaska would be number 1 but due to the fact it has no women, I cannot count it. Its why jordie21 wants to move there so bad. Its his utopia.
 
When interviewing widmayer, he had a funny story about you, now it’s your turn to embarrass him.  Please give us a good story.
I will give you 2.5.

Story 1. So when we both lived in Milwaukee, We used to go to this bar/club. One of my best friends Ryan worked there so we always only had to tip. Well one random night Ryan and I went there and I did not know widmayer would be there. It was probably 12:30AM at this point. The place had multiple bars, so we decided to go to the top bar where you can sort of see over everything and start doing shots.

I look over to see what’s going on, on the dance floor. And I see widmayer on the dance floor dancing with a bunch of older black dudes, just bombed as well. I am staring at this for a good 20 minutes before finally going and getting him and dragging him away. All he would talk about the rest of the night was how he was getting down and how all these older black dudes loved him.

Before this ever happened we were at this same bar. I think it was someone’s birthday or something, If you were with the birthday party you got free beer before 10pm.

Well I think I left at some point during the night but when you have 2 hours of free beer you can guess where the night is headed.  I had actually left at some point during the night, but I come to find out later that widmayer had stayed the whole night. Even after all of his other friends left. Well I guess the story goes that someone put him into a cab, and told them to take him home. Only halfway home he realizes he has no money to pay the cab driver, so when they are  stopped at a red light he just jumps out of the car and books it. He runs from the cab driver for a while only to realize he has no idea where he is and none of his roommates or friends knew where he was either. They started calling him and finally got a hold of him. He was so wasted he had no idea where he was, only that he was outside of a check cashing place. For those of us who live in larger cities, you know that the last place you want to be at 230/3am is outside of a check cashing place. Needless to say his roommates managed to somehow pick him up. None to pleased.

Also one night I had to call him and ask him if we had an orgy or not. But that story we will leave for another time.

Thank you for taking a few minutes to speak with me. And congrats on your week 4 victory!
Silence

I see by the TPT November leaderboard you only played two November events, have you played the TPT before November or did you just start playing?
No comment.

How long have you been playing poker?
No comment.

Do you play anything besides NLHE?
No comment.

Do you prefer live or online play? Why?
No comment.

Do you prefer Cash/MTT/SNG and why?
No comment.

Your twitter bio lists “butt scratcher” which reminds me of a Family Guy episode where Peter tries to get his “Butt Scratcher” job back. Is this something you have done in the past?
No comment.

Do you play poker for fun or a way to make some extra cash?
No comment.

Do you have any favorite poker pros or watch any poker on TV?
No comment.

Have you used any training sites or read any books to help you with your game? If so, which ones?
No comment.

Since the Pats lost, are you going to kick that Salvation Army guy out of town?
No comment.

Have you listened to the Ustream broadcast of the #tpt? What are your thoughts on it?
No comment.

Do you have a favorite hand to play? I prefer my right hand…wait, what?
No comment.

What’s your biggest win whether online or live?
No comment.

Every poker player goes on tilt at one time or another, how do you handle going on tilt?
No comment.

Do you play different online then you do live? For some reason live, I play much tighter and am trying to play that way online.
No comment.

Will you be playing the #tpt in the future? Do you have any ideas on how to improve it?
No comment.

I know you’ve only played a few Twitter Poker Tour events, but is there any one player that sticks out that you either love to get in a pot with or want to avoid playing pots with?
No comment.

Is online poker rigged for the underdog to give more inexperienced players a reason to keep playing the shit cards they seem to win with consistently?
No comment.

I hear that JJ is one of the hardest hands to play, do you have any opinion on this?
No comment.

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions, any final thoughts or shout outs?
No comment.

When was the lightblub moment when you figured out you needed to create your own website?
It was about two years ago. I had a friend that knew how to build websites and he offered to build me one for a cube of keystone light beer. I saw that there were few websites about poker that were more than just flashy banners and bonus offers. I started trying to put together some solid information on poker, and it eventually turned into a full scale website on the subject.

Anyone help you out with it, or was it a solo journey?
I’ve had help from some friends in the poker world. I also had to get someone to help with the design since I am not very good at the technical stuff. I am constantly getting input from poker players, and editing the articles so that they will be the best possible advice for players.

What types of players check out your site? A wide variety? Most beginners?
I would say it is mostly intermediate players. Usually players who know the basics, but are looking to get better at the game. Usually they’ll turn to Google and search for an answer, which is how they find my site.

How much have you won online at one time? Loss?
I’ve had a lot of online tournament cashes for a few thousand here and there, especially back when I used to play at Party Poker. I liked playing the turbo tournaments the most. I try not to spend most of my time playing poker though, as I can make more money doing other things. I don’t like to talk about the biggest loss, but I can tell you it was around 20k and took less than two minutes. Moral of that story: don’t play late at night when you are drunk. I had a friend who came home drunk once, got on Full Tilt, and won like 50k. He got all excited and told his wife all about it and then went to bed. He woke up in the morning to discover that he had been playing on the play money tables. Oops!

Which online poker site do you like the most? The worst? Why?
I’d say my favorite at the moment is PokerStars or FullTilt. They seem to have the most traffic for playing the quick tourney when I get the urge. My least favorite would have to be Absolute poker because they have blackjack, which is a little to tempting for me

If Holdem is your favorite game, what is your second? Any other varieties you enjoy playing?
I like playing Omaha High. It’s a nice switch from Hold Em, and there are often some new players that don’t quite understand the rules which can end up being a good thing for me!

Any other poker websites that you frequent that you could tell us about? Must read sites!
One that comes to mind right away is MeltedFelt.com. It’s a poker blog that has me laughing every time I go to read it. Definitely check it out if you are tired of reading the same old boring poker blogs.

Do you see online poker continuing in the foreseeable future or do you see Congress clamping down?
I see it eventually being regulated by the US government in some way shape or form. It’s just a matter of time before they realize that it is a fight that can’t be won. People want to play poker, so why stop them? It’s almost identical to the prohibition of alcohol, and we all saw how that turned out.

I see you like RC planes. Ever dive bomb something, and not pull up in time and obliterate the plane? Any cool crashes involving fire?
No cool crashes involving fire. I have crashed numerous times, including in water, on roofs, in roads, trees, etc. You name it, I’ve probably crashed into it. I am fairly new to the hobby, but you can get a plane for roughly $200 and be flying right away. It’s pretty fun, and it’s a good excuse to get out of the house and off the computer.

There is this guy on twitter, called Street3, who could be the worst poker I have ever seen. Hands down, the worst! What advice would you give him so he doesn’t continue to deposit funds online?
Why would you want him to stop? I would try to play against him often. If he really wants to continue to deposit funds, maybe he could read up on the game until he gets to the point where he realizes that he sucks. Then he’ll either quit or get better.

I’ve checked out your new site http://wppokerleague.com/ and must say it looks interesting, what can you tell us about what prompted you to create this site?
I wanted to create a site to allow people to download get help with installing the WordPress plugin: WP Poker League. The site will also be used to blog about ideas, issues, etc relating to running poker leagues. Additionally, the support forum will be a place for poker league administrators/directors to share ideas about running a poker league regardless of whether they use the plugin or not.

Is this just for Poker leagues or can it be used for other types of scoring league, such as Fantasy Football, home games, etc…?
The WP Poker League plugin is really just geared towards poker leagues. The original intent was to make it generic enough to be used for a variety of points based leagues, but ultimately it was best to make it poker only. But as for poker leagues, it can be used for all types: online, casino and home games.

I see in the “Poker Leage Showcase” tab you have the Twitter Poker Tour listed. Will this be a central place for all poker leagues to be listed so players in multiple leagues can have easy access to view their standings?
Not necessarily. The Poker League Showcase is there to allow league administrators to show off their WP Poker League powered websites. It will also serve to show potential users of the plugin how other admins are using it. Hopefully there will be some crossover as we list more and more leagues in the showcase and people start to check out each others sites.

Did you create this plugin or you are just promoting it because it’s so nice?
Yes!! I actually did create this plugin myself! I have written several web based apps in PHP/MySQL but never a WordPress plugin. It took a little bit to figure out the plugin development piece but everything else was right in my comfort zone.

How long have you been using this plugin for the Twitter Poker Tour? What benefits does it have over what you previously used?
I have been using the WP Poker League plugin for the Twitter Poker Tour for about a month now but the core of the app has been in use for about 9 months. I had written a backend to the Twitter Poker Tour website to allow for importing and displaying the results and leaderboard a while back and the WordPress plugin just built upon that.

It has a few benefits over others I have tried, namely: the ability to display the event schedule, display individual event results, only shop the top X results or leaderboard spots and display them on any WordPress post or page. The primary benefit is that the data is stored locally within the WordPress install and not called in via an iframe from a remote site.

What types of poker leagues can this be used for?
The plugin can be used for any type of poker league that keeps track of points. Actually, if you were so inclined you could just use the plugin to show the event schedule and individual results without using the leaderboard itself. But the crown jewel of the plugin is the leaderboard.

Can the standings be exported at all or is it strictly viewable online?
As of now, the results cannot be exported from the plugin itself. It wouldn’t be too hard for me to code an export feature if there were a need.

From what I understand, anyone running WordPress can run this plugin on their site, right?
That’s right, all you need to run this plugin is a WordPress installation. If you are just starting out with a poker league or are on a different platform for your league website, I wrote a short article called: “4 Steps to Create and Manage a Poker League Website” to get you started.

Otherwise, feel free to stop by the site and checkout the online demo of the plugin and get your questions answered in the forum!

Have you played many twitter poker tour events? According to the leader board, this was your first December event.
I believe I have played one or two others previously. It’s a fun group to compete against, and I like to play when I can find the time. Sometimes I get pretty swamped running PokerNations.

How long have you been playing poker?
I’m 32 years old, so I’ve been playing a long time. I grew up in an Italian household, so I learned games like 5 card draw, 7 card stud, etc. Then hold em hit the scene and I picked that up, then started learning games like Omaha hi/lo, Razz, Badugi, and 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball.

You are also the founder of PokerNations. Can you tell us more about it?
Yes, it’s essentially a Facebook/Myspace aimed at poker players. We have all the regular social networking features (profiles, blogs, photos, videos, forum, etc). But we also have a built-in rewards system where you earn poker chips for almost everything you do on our site. You can then use these poker chips to enter giveaways to win poker books, jewelry, glasses, clothing and even tournament entries and poker coaching. Another nice feature your readers will appreciate is our Twitter integration. You can access your Twitter friends feed directly from within our network and even update your Twitter status when you update your status at PokerNations.

Another thing we do differently than our competitors is we aren’t affiliates. PokerNations does not receive any kickback for you joining, depositing or playing at any online sites, or for buying any products or services. This way we maintain industry neutrality, without having an agenda for or against any particular brand, product or service.

What do you want to get out of Pokernations?
Our goal in 4-5 years is to have the largest and friendliest poker community on the planet.

Too many poker communities permit their members to insult each other, which really discourages people from posting hands and asking for advice to improve their game. If you feel like you’re going to get attacked for asking questions, many people just won’t get involved, and then the community suffers for it. So we don’t permit that type of behavoir, so even newcomers and novices to the game can feel comfortable asking questions and improving their game.

We also want PokerNations to be a place where the players can voice their approval or issues with sites they play on, casinos they frequent or poker books and other products. And where they’ll be able to interact with the companies directly to resolve issues and improve the industry for everyone.

And of course, we want PokerNations to be the place to find your favorite poker pros and catchup on their blogs, tweets, photos and more.

Do you have a favorite hand to play?
I assume you’re asking about Hold Em, because I play a lot of different types of games, some which contain four cards or five. I don’t really have a favorite actually. I suppose if I had to pick something I’d choose 78 of diamonds. At a full table in a tournament if you raise UTG with this hand and get called, most people are going to assume you have an Ace or a pair. So you can either get a flop that allows you to bluff, and represent you hit it, which your opponents may believe. Or you can hit a big flop and your hand is well disguised, and someone thinks you completely whiffed and you get paid off.

What advice would you give to a beginning player?
I would recommend they read up on the game they want to play, learn as much as they can and don’t stop learning. Not all poker books are created equal, so ask for advice from other players and see what they recommend. Post hands you’ve played in your blog or in a forum and get input from others on what you did right and wrong.

Another piece of advice I’d offer is to consider cash games. It’s easy to get caught up in the glory of Hold Em tournaments. But let me drop some knowledge on your readers. If you were to come in 10th place out of over 6,000 players (the year Jerry Yang won the Main Event) for 17 years in a row, you still wouldn’t make as much money as he did winning it once. Think about how sick that is. It would obviously take a LOT more skill to come in 10th seventeen years in a row, but it’s not rewarded as much as busting for sixteen years and winning once.

Cash games generally provide less variance than tournament poker, and are a more stable source of income. Most poker professionals make their living through cash games. Sure, you may not get rich overnight, but the roller coaster ride will be less bumpy. If you want to play tournaments for a living, you really have to be able to lose a LOT, so you can hit one big win that carries you through more losses. I don’t know about you, but I’m not a fan of losing 19/20 games, that gets a little old after awhile. Plus, in a tournament you’re stuck playing until you bust or it ends. With a cash game you can play for 8 hours, 3 hours or 20 minutes and then leave. So there’s a bit more freedom there as well.

Your Pokernations bio says you are a “semi-pro” do you someday hope to become a full fledged professional?
I went semi-pro in Dec 2005, supplementing my income while still working for “the man”. By September 2006 I was losing money punching the clock instead of playing poker, so I left to pursue it full-time. So I’ve actually done the whole professional player thing. I consider myself semi-pro because I’m just too focused on the launch of PokerNations now to play as much as I used to.

I am perplexed by your statement that you “enjoy scratch-off tickets”. What does this mean? You enjoy scratching them or you enjoy them after the scratch or are they just good company in general?
Lol. I used to be addicted to the little buggers in my late teens and early 20′s. But now I only buy a ticket I haven’t played before, and then I’m done with it. I live in Massachusetts, and the variety of scratch tickets they produce on a regular basis is ridiculous, but it’s big money for the State (probably part of the reason we don’t have any Casinos here)

Every poker player has a story, whether it be a bad beat given or taken, a huge win or outplaying someone, etc…, what one story do you have that sticks out?
It was my first trip to Vegas during the 2007 WSOP. I only had 2 hours of sleep the night before (my wife Jenn and I had been at the Bluff Magazine WSOP party at Sapphires Gentleman’s Club, and she had a bit too much to drink, so I had to hold her hair back while she prayed to the porcelain god) it.

So anyway, I’m on 2 hours of sleep and she’s finally resting so I hit the Bellagio for a 40/80 mixed game (this is limit). There were four games in rotation, Omaha hi/lo, Stud hi/lo, 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball and Badugi. So three of my best games and one I had never played before (Badugi). I only played for two hours and I sat down with $2,500 and I left with $5,200. A pretty sweet profit for such a short session. I have to admit I was a card rack that game, and no one ever believed me. I’d get three people calling me to the river and I’d scoop or three-quarter them in massive pots, it was really great (and helped offset all the lap-dance expenses from the previous night).

Mike “The Mouth” Matusow has been advocating the power of positive thinking when it comes to poker. I have tried this method and I have found out that no matter how much I positively think I won’t get rivered by a donkey, I end up getting rivered by a donkey. I bring this up because I believe that attitude is important when it comes to poker, what are your thoughts?
Perhaps you haven’t mastered the positive thinking then? All I know is that if you’re miserable playing, perhaps it’s time to take a break, step back and have a breather. Then come back refreshed, rather than with that doom & gloom (I’m going to get sucked out on) attitude.

Likewise, in my line of work I see a LOT of people who are quick to blame external factors for their losses. One of the worst things that can happen to a poker player is to be winning when they first start out. This can create a false sense of skill and entitlement, when they may just be experiencing short-term variance in their favor. So when the luck evens out and they’re losing all the time, they don’t realize they were never very good to begin with. They don’t try to plug the leaks in their game, but instead blame it on this or that.

The best players in the game will analyze hands they won and hands they lost and determine if they played them optimally. There are tons of resources out there to help you, from poker books, coaching sites and communities with people to offer advice. I know from my experience playing the Twitter Poker Tour that the fields are relatively soft. I don’t mean that as an insult to anyone, but there is a LOT of minraising going on and people betting 60 chips into an 800 chip pot, etc. If I was going to recommend one thing to all of the TPT players, it would be to read the Harrington on Hold Em series of poker books. They’re easy to read and offer a great foundation to grown upon. Those books took my game to the “next level” and through experience you’ll continue to grow beyond that.

Some players get tilted very easy, do you get tilted easy? How do you handle going on tilt?
I can’t deny it, I certainly have some Hellmuth rage inside. But I think a lot of people suffer tilt not just from poker, but from external factors. Maybe you’re fighting with your significant other, something at work pissed you off or credit card debt is depressing you. So you repress that anger and then when things go sour at the poker table people freak out because they feel like they just can’t catch a break in life.

To handle my tilt I’ll take a break from playing poker and maybe play a videogame on my computer. Fire up a round of Left 4 Dead versus mode and pwn some n00bs that way, where my skill isn’t going to be influenced by luck (except if I get some n00b teammates, but then I can grief the crap out of them for sucking)

You have an awesome giveaway that is going on at Pokernations where the winner gets to live in Vegas for a week and is bought into a WSOP event. Give us the details man! Also, is living with you for a week really something someone would want to win?
I’ve seen so many companies that give away a seat to the Main Event. But the problem with a prize like that is most players don’t have the skills or experience to succeed in a deep-stacked multi-day tournament. So it’s like giving someone a lottery ticket. Instead of giving a person a meal ticket for one day I’d rather teach them to fish. So our big promotions we plan to include a training element of some kind. The winner of our PokerNations 2010 Vegas Experience will receive:

• Entry into $1500 WSOP Tournament
• Entry into $550 Super Satellite To The Main Event
• Private Home Accommodations Near Vegas Strip
• Private Poker Coaching
• (Signed) Winning Poker Tournaments: One Hand At A Time
• PokerNations Logo Clothing
• $1,000 Travel & Spending Cash

They’ll be staying with myself and professional player, coach and author Eric “Rizen” Lynch (he trained one of the inaugural November Nine members, Darus Suharto, who went on to win $2.5 million). What’s really great about this promotion is you don’t have to play a tournament with thousands of players and be the lucky one player who wins their way into another tournament with thousands of players, so you can win your way into a third tournament where first place gets the package.

Here, even if you suck at poker, even if you’ve never played a hand in your life, you still have a chance to win this package (because our system will award it randomly to one of our members). You can influence your chances at winning this package by being active at PokerNations. This will help you accumulate poker chips to enter multiple times for this prize package.

As far as living with me for a week, of course you want to, I’m awesome! We can hit the clubs in Vegas and I can bust out my “running-man” dance. It’s the only move I know, but really, it’s the only move you need to know.

What’s your best win, whether live or online?
I’m mostly a cash game player. I’ve had plenty of deep finishes and final tables in a number of events. I used to play the Party Poker 40K guaranteed, which would have over 2K entrants and I came in 50th, 35th, 28th and 12th. It was so frustrating to win a few hundred bucks when first was over 10 grand. I obviously prefer to play tournaments with a few hundred players, rather than 1,000+.

But to answer your question, my best win would be middle-high four-figures in a limit cash game.

Most poker players i know prefer live play to online. What about you?
Playing online is convenient, but there’s nothing like playing with real chips and cards. And players in live settings are generally much weaker than their online counterparts (i.e. a 20/40 limit game online is usually much tougher than a 20/40 live table).

I am currently 1 of 58 in a .25c tourney on PS while I write this. Don’t screw me up. Wait, there’s no question there…um…lets see. Okay, on a board with K52 and two spades, a guy just bet 240 into a 150 pot. Why would he do this? My thought is he hit the K and wanted to discourage flush chasers. What are your thoughts on over betting the pot?
My thoughts on over-betting the pot are “it depends”. Poker is situational, and what works in one spot won’t work in another. You have to factor in stack and pot sizes, current position in the tournament, your opponents style of play, your image and if your opponents are aware enough to consider your hands when making their decisions (i.e. some people can’t look past their own two cards)

What’s funny is that in a .25 tourney there will be tons of players that will chase their flush even after the guy overbets the pot. I’ve played in games where a guy put in 2000 chips on the turn chasing his flush and left himself with 300 chips behind on the river just in case he missed.

Min raising: Is there ever a reason to do it?
I’m not a big fan of min-raises, but again, “it depends”. If this sort of raise has been working at the table and people are folding to it, then you can accumulate blinds with a lot less risk (generally you see this late in a tourney when most everyone is shorter stacked with the rising blinds, although mostly it’s 2.5x the BB raises)

I have a bad habit of protecting my big blind almost to where I’ll call most any preflop raise with almost any two cards. Good idea or bad idea?
“It depends”. Lol. Seriously though, position is HUGE in poker. Whenever you’re playing a hand out of position you’re at a disadvantage. If someone is abusing the crap out of button raises or something then yes, you’re going to need to defend against it at some point, you can’t just let them continue to run you over. It’s hard to give more advice without knowing what you do after you call these raises out of position. How often are you then check-folding?

If you used tracking software to record your hands, you could find out how much money you’ve won or lost calling raises from the BB. That would help you to know if it’s a good or bad idea for your playstyle. Is it working or is it costing you chips?

Have you used any training sites, such as TPT sponsor DeucesCracked?
I have not. I’ve watched a few videos from a few different sites, but generally the voice-over work turns me off from these clips. But I know a number of players who benefit from these sites. I prefer to learn via reading books, playing and discussing hands with friends and members of the PokerNations community.

BTW, I am now 5 of 52. Damn it. Anyway, what’s more important in terms of stats, ROI or ITM%? My take is ITM% because a bad player could luckbox one big tournament and thereby increase his ROI astronomically.
Are we talking SNG’s or MTT’s? Because you could constantly be just barely cashing in an MTT and winning a paltry 1.5x your buyin while having wasted 4-6 hours doing it. So that’s the flip-side of the coin as far as someone luckboxing a big tourney and boosting their ROI.

When someone limps AA and then cries about it gettiing cracked with Poop/Crap Off suit by the Big Blind, I laugh hysterically. Is there ever a reason to limp AA?
Yes. Oh, did you want examples? This is another “it depends” spot. You want to get value out of your big hands. Generally I advocate playing your big hands and your bluffs in the same way, making it difficult for your opponents to know what you hold (i.e. when you bluff, consider the “story” you’re telling with your betting………if you really had Aces there, how would you play them)

There can be times to limp Aces. Examples include where you’ll be up against only one or two opponents, and you really want them to hit something so they can pay you off (i.e. they may not call a preflop raise, so you take a risk of them outdrawing you to give yourself a shot at a double-up because just winning the blinds won’t improve your situation).

Another option is to limp when someone behind you has been playing aggressively and you’re confident someone will raise or shove after you’ve limped.

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions, do you have anything more to add, something I didn’t cover or any shout outs in general?
Sure, I’d just like to thank all the players and admins from the TPT for making me feel so welcome in your games, and I hope you’ll all get involved at PokerNations, would love to help everyone with strategy advice and see you take down some big wins!

Thanks to Val Presniakovas (if that is your real name) for taking the time to answer these tough questions!

Congrats on the #tptpoker victory Dec. 12th and runner up finish the week before! I know this isn’t your first #tptpoker game, how did you first get involved in the #tpt?
Thank you! Very tough field! Great player’s and good experience. Like you know, I have a twitter account and I found a message about the TPT tournament. I checked the web page, registered, and start playing.

How did you get started playing poker and how have you been playing?
Well, first I started watching poker shows on TV. I still do, and I really like it. I started reading magazines and a few books. I have been playing for about 6 years.

Do you play much live poker? If so, where do you play?
Not anymore, I am the father of 3 kids, so my time is limited. I’m addicted to poker and I love it. I have a lot of gamble in me – I need to play and love to play.

Do you prefer live or online poker? Are there advantages to playing live vs online or vice-versa?
I love live games. A big advantage to playing live games is you use more reading abilities. But online is very convenient for many people. Just wake up and you are one click away to play online.

They say if you can’t spot the donk at the table, then you’re the donk. I say, everybody at the table is a donk. What are your thoughts?
I think you are right. The one problem calling everybody a donkey is that it’s not fair to the many good players around the net and lives games. Before you call somebody a donkey, you must always remember if you ever made a crazy call or gamble? Yeah I thought so. But, the other thing that I don’t understand is how you can be an overrated donkey and win big money in the poker tournaments.

Do you have a favorite hand to play or a hand that you hate to get because it’s a monster that seems to always lose? For coolwhipflea, it’s QQ and for me it’s AKo, as we both lose consistently with it!
Yes, my favorite hand is AK spades. I’m a very bad loser, I hate to lose any game, but when you play online I see so many bad beats that are not even funny. This is part of the game, when you have a big hand like QQ or KK and then you lose to some ugly 78os. I read in the books that there is nothing you can do but put your money in with the best hand. This is the game we call poker. And it is very hard to play with small pair like 77, 88, 99, TT, or JJ. There are many times that if you don’t a hit set, you lose.

Where does the name “Blizge” come from? Better yet, WTF is a “Blizge”?
BLIZGE, lol. This name came from Europe, which can be translated into as “PUNCH.” Yeah, boxing style punch.

Have you used any training sites or read any books that have helped you become a better player?
Yes I have read a few books, mostly on information about poker helping you become a better player. You always have room to improve your game. It’s all about being in the right place at the right time. There is a great book, Gladwell’s Outliers, that I think is extremely valuable, about what is happening in the world of poker.

Your twitter bio states you represent the “Shark Poker Clan”. Can you elaborate?
I am a member of the global online poker community, Railbirds.com, since 2007 and I represent the Shark Poker Clan. Nothing but crazy people who love to play poker. We have a private tournament when we play other clans. Direct link: http://www.railbirds.com/rails/BLIZGE/.

Are there any poker pros that you respect or any that you just can’t stand?
No question, Doyle Bronson is a legend and he is #1 in my book, as well as, Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, and Mike Matusow. There are poker pros I learn from, like how to play, how to read people, and bluff. I think I like all pro players because they are already rich and successful. And for me, there is a long way to claim those mountains. I am working on it.

I tried googling your name, and all I get are results for your twitter page (note: I did not look past google page 1). With that said, I can’t find anything to help me think of questions, so seen any good movies lately?
I am just a regular guy, a father, and a friend. I love life, family, and poker.

What’s the biggest cash you’ve made whether live or online?
Online, I think I have won $1,200, $900, and $300. I have some wins, but not millions yet. Live, $3,700.

Do you play Cash/MTT/SNG? What are your reasons for playing or not playing each type?
I love to play more tournaments and SNGs, while in a cash game you have to play a little different and my game needs more improvement. I think competition is the number #1 reason why I play poker.

I’ve read that expanding to other forms of poker, such as Stud, Omaha, etc, can help you play better in NLHE. Why is that and do you play other poker games?
I think so. I think any poker game such as Omaha or Stud helps develop better skills and knowledge of NLHE. I enjoy playing pot limit Omaha or no limit. Great games.

Do you play on any other online sites, like PokerStars/UB/Carbon? Are there advantages to playing multiple sites?
My favorite site is still Full Tilt and Poker Stars. Hard to say about playing multiple sites, I do not like it.

It seems that half the people believe online poker is rigged because of the numerous bad beats and “set ups” that seem to occur. My thoughts are that good players get bad beats, because it means they got their money in good and that bad players lay bad beats because they don’t know the odds of the hands they play. Online poker has a mix of horrible, bad, good, and great players. What are you thoughts on online poker being rigged?
Yes, I agree. Too many bad beats online because we play more hands online, I think.

If I ship the WSOP ME, I’ll give you $500K, will you do the same if you win the WSOP ME? Wait, better question, do you have any desire or plan to play in any WSOP events?
This is my dream, to play the WSOP event and I am working hard to reach my goal. If you ship me $500K, I will do same. I’ll split all my winnings with you, no questions asked.

I absolutely hate when a player is all in pre-flop and two or more players call and see a flop and rather then check it down to try and eliminate the all in player, they try and bet or bluff the other player. Is there anything that another player does at a table that just makes you say “WTF”?
As you know, we can only worry about what we can do. We need to learn and move on to another hand. I hate when players at a table teach others how to play your hand.

Why do you think online players are so much more aggressive then live players?
Players are aggressive online because if they lose they are one click away from another game, easy right? Live players are different animals.

Is there anything you would like the #tptpoker world to know about you? Hobbies? Shoutouts?
I have been an AAU basketball coach for 5 years now. My oldest son is one of the leaders on my team. I love to watch NFL, the greatest sport in the world. And of course POKER. Twitter Poker Tour is a great site, I have met great people. The tournaments keep going, their future grows and hopefully they become the biggest poker community.

Shout outs to Street3, Cprpoker, and Fleapid!!!!!

Thanks Val!

Let me say Thank you very much and good luck on the felts.