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Location of Interview Thread : here
Date of Interview : Interview was posted on 27th March 2006.
Official Site : here
these questions are in no particular order :)
Question : (From f1re)
First off Williams is one of my favorite players, I have enjoyed him on the new show King Of Vegas unlike that idiot Hollywood Dave. That brings me to my first question, How do you, as a successful pro, deal with someone like that, at a live table?
I'd like to know what it is like being one of the youngest, and at the same time one of the best pro's out there
I'd also like to know what is David's favorite city and or casino to play cash tables
Answer :
I am pretty good at not letting someone like that bother me at all when I am at the table. I would say I ignore it, but that’s not the right approach. You want to not let it bother you, but still be observant, because they could and usually do give away something about their hands. It doesn’t ever bother me, and I am good at not responding. If you don’t respond they usually won’t say anything to you either.
I’m not really sure how to answer your 2nd question. I mean, of course it is great being a successful pro, and being young is just something I don’t think about. Age doesn’t really matter at the poker table.
My favorite casino is in my favorite city, the Bellagio poker room in Las Vegas. It’s my home so I feel the most comfortable there.
Question : (From Fonzerelli_79)
I recently posted this question to members. Id love to hear a professional poker players opinion on it : -
Consider this scenario :
Your chip leader in a tournament (doesnt matter if its a big multi tournament or a sng). There are 3 players left and the blinds are at 2,000/4,000
- Your sitting on the big blind with 100,000 chips
- Player A is on the button and has 15,000 chips
- Player B is the small blind and has 30,000 chips
Player A is first to act. He decides to go all in for his 15,000 chips - probably not a bad move if he has any sort of a hand with him only having 15 thousand and the blinds at 4
Player B has just put 2 thousand of his 30 thousand in the pot for the small blind. He decides to go all in too.
You look down at your cards and see  
Do you call?
Answer :
I call instantly. You are 3 handed so TT is a huge hand no matter what. Player A is short, so he could be moving in with any two, as he should with his stack size. Player B knows this so his holdings to call don’t exactly have to be that huge anyways. With this info, and my stack size, I take a shot at winning the tournament, with what is probably the best hand. I don’t think there really is any other option in this situation.
Question : (From Jvelez)
Hi Mr. Williams, got a couple of questions
Is there any strategic relationship between magic the game and poker?
How do you manage to stay concentrated for hours and days without showing sign of tiredness?
What would you have done with your life if poker didn't get in the middle?
Answer :
I don’t think there is any real strategic relationship between magic and poker. I think playing in the big magic tournaments helps with your second question. You get training for concentrating for hours and days at a time, which helps greatly when you play a large poker tournament.
I’m not really sure what I would have done if poker didn’t 'get in the middle' I was in school and really enjoy learning, so I would probably be in graduate school somewhere working on getting multiple degrees.
Question : (From hugebucks)
David, how to you prepare right before a big tournament like the WSOP..im talking like 1 to 2 hours before the tournment starts...Do you have a favorite song that pumps you up to get you ready, or do you do sit ups, run around in circles, stuff like that?
Lets say you have been playing in a huge tournment and you have made it to the final table. The final table starts the at 11:00am the next day. Its 5:00am the day of the final table and your in your hotel room. What do you do to pass time till the final table starts?
David, do you recommend or have read any good books for online players?
Who is your favorite poker player to play agaisnt?
What Poker player do you like to watch play?
Answer :
Right before a big tournament starts, I usually sleep. I play so many, that I don’t get nervous or need to get pumped up. I play poker pretty much every day, so my mind is always in the game mindset.
If it’s 5am the night before a final table that starts at 11am, I will be in bed sleeping for sure. Most final tables start in the afternoon though, and it’s harder to stay asleep until 5pm. I usually watch a movie on pay per view, or listen to some music on the computer and chat with friends about strategy for the other players at the final table.
I am not a big advocate of poker books so I don’t have any recommendations. I really enjoyed Barry Greenstein’s book Ace on the River. It’s a very different book though, and not really about online play.
There isn’t really one player I enjoy watching play. Lately Michael 'The Grinder' Mizrachi has really been amazing me when I watch him play. He is head and shoulders above the rest of the field right now.
Question : (From Basspro2000)
Whats up David,
I was just wondering how a high stakes tournament poker player manages their bankroll? For example, how do you decide which events to play? Do you play large amounts of small buy-in tournaments or just a few $10,000 buy-in tournaments a year?
Answer :
I play every big event I have time for, and most of the smaller events down to the 2k buyin level. I was fortunate to hit it big in my first major tournament, so I have the bankroll to do that.
Question : (From JohnnyRax)
Hi David,
Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions. I was wondering what your thoughts were on the WSOP ME. With the ever increasing number of internet qualifiers and the number of entrants growing every year (this year 7500 - 8000), do you think a well known pro will ever win the Main Event again? The last 3 have been relative unknowns before winning the WSOP Main Event. If you think this is likely to happen, who do you think has the best chance of pulling it off besides yourself? Do you think the buyin for the WSOP ME should be increased to try and eliminate the large fields or will increasing the buyin even make a difference in the number who enter, what with the number of internet qualifiers? Also what are you thoughts about the $50,000 buyin HORSE event at the WSOP? Do you think this will in time be considered the "Main Event/World Poker Championship"?
Thanks in advance, JR
Answer :
I don’t really try and predict the future. There are so many players, and the percentage of 'known' players is getting smaller and smaller that it is mathematically unlikely that a 'known' pro will win the WSOP ME, but as we all know, anything can happen. I don’t think any one person has the best chance, as in a field that big, it has to be your day, or week, or two weeks now, as the ME is about two weeks long. I do think the buyin should be increased, but not to limit the field. I was an econ major in school, and believe in inflation. 10k today does not have close to the same value as 10k did back in the 70s, so I think it should be adjusted for that. The buyin in the tournament has less meaning to people than it did back then, and the buyin should be a significant amount. It show’s which people have the 'moxy' to pony up the big bucks.
Question : (From Fonzerelli_79)
I personally love travelling however a lot of people get sick and tired of living out of a suitcase. How do you find the travel committments which comes along with a professional poker player?
Answer :
Most of the travelling isn’t that bad for me. I live in Vegas which is where about 60% of the events are, so that part is easy. Another 20% of the events are in LA, which is like a second home to me, and very close to Vegas. The Commerce Casino also takes good care of us, which makes it easier to travel to LA. That only leaves a small percentage of the time when we have to go to Atlantic City, Tunica, or somewhere like that. I don’t mind it as most of the casino’s have great lodging with affordable rates and good food.
Question : (From NiJ)
David listen up mate. TO put it simply im wondering how you are able to put ppl on hands. I understand reading the way they bet in situations. Yet it still seems unreal that your able to read an opponent as well as you do. We all know the basics its the down and dirty slight of hand things that we want to know. What are the real tells that the pros have. We all see them sitting there either stone faced or talking up a storm. How is it that you get the reads on them?
Answer :
I can’t really explain it. There aren’t really tells like the “Oreo incident” in Rounders. Everyone now and then someone will have a physical tell, but those incidents are so rare. Sometimes, someone will make a bet, and you’ll just get a weird feeling. Something doesn’t feel right, its intuition that grows the more tournament experience you get. You just seem to know that something is up and if they have it or don’t. It’s very weird.
Question : (From wickedroller)
David,
As one of the elite youre considering and analyzing things at the table that are far and away above what i am thinking about at the table. However, you sit at a lot of tables with a lot of amatuers like me so im sure you notice many of the mistakes that we make and are probably amused in the back of your mind at our simple ways. Im sure there are a lot of these mistakes that you see over and over. Im speaking of the level of amatuer that wins fairly consistently in home games and low limit online games but wouldnt be able to stack my chips if i were sitting at a table full of pros. If you were going to teach me the correct way to play poker, what is the best advice you can think of to start me in the right direction?
TYVM for your time.
Answer :
My best advice would be to take in as much information about poker as you can. Read all the books you can get your hands on, participate in the forums on the poker websites, and ask questions from other players, even those you think you are better than. You can learn something from everyone, even if it’s how their mind works at the poker table. Also be as observant as you can at the table, and make sure pay attention to what everyone at the table does. Then take that info and process it, try and figure out why the players did what they did, and you can form patterns about how they play. When you start thinking on this level, you are on your way to stepping up your game.
Question : (From Fonzerelli_79)
What do you think you would be doing for a living if you hadn’t found poker?
Answer :
I was in school when I started playing poker and I love school. I was majoring in Econ, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with an Econ degree. I really don’t know what I would be doing. I always say I’d either still be in school, earning multiple degrees, or I would own some kind of business.
Question : (From xtra)
Who do your consider you rivals?
When you sit on a table who is the last person you want to see and why?
Does being able to watch youself and others on TV help or hurt your game.
Answer :
I consider everyone at the table with me my rival. You can’t take anything personally at the poker table, and have to approach each new table as a table full of enemies.
The last person I want to see at my table is Phil Ivey, but not for the reasons you think. I don’t mind playing against Phil and I am not afraid of him. The problem is the other players at the table are so afraid of him they just do the dumbest things and give him chips because of who he is. They try and bluff him, to have a story, and he takes their chips. They get afraid when he raises every hand, and misplay their big hands and let him bust them. It’s pretty gross how hard people fight to give him their stacks. This makes it harder for me, because he becomes a monster with a lot of chips.
Question : (From Cowboy)
Do you ever find yourself burnt out and exausted during a tournament and
play reckless steals/plays just to put yourself into a position to either
have a thrilling hand or just lose completly because you have had it with
the tournament?
Answer :
I went to an audition in LA for the King of Vegas. They held auditions in Atlantic City, Chicago, Vegas, and LA. I was selected from hundreds of applicants. Something they didn’t do a good job of explaining was the poker structure. The structure was the worst I’ve ever seen. They gave us 10k in chips, started at 100/200 and the doubled every 10 or 15 mins. There wasn’t really any room to wiggle, and especially when you played against the amateurs, who raise 10x the big blind frequently. I was able to do well, as I was patient and fortunate enough to pick up a big hand and get action before it as too late, but it was a really bad structure.
I started playing live 5/10 limit hold’em games when I started in underground Dallas clubs. The internet poker scene hadn’t really gotten that big yet, this was in 1998. I eventually dabbled in internet poker but really only for tournaments and not even that often. I have always preferred live poker, although now I play online at Bodog.com. It’s got the best action and the livest games on the internet.
The first thing I bought was a Rolex. I always wanted one, and it something that holds it’s value really well, so I went ahead and spoiled myself.
Question : (From Kaartkeizer)
1. You are an internet player also, how do you avoid the minefields? I'm talking about the noobs who like to gamble a little too much, the players who don't want to play anymore and call everything, the players who say they have to leave and go All In every hand and catch. Basically the players who knock you out in a tournament or take away of your chipstack by making ridiculous moves. Ofcourse they paid the entry fee and can play how they want but that doesn't mean anyone has to like it. I would like to know how you don't get affected by these kind of players. In high Buy-In tournaments I probably won't run into them but those games are not an option for me yet.
2. During the WSOP where you got second what kind of advice were you given that made you reach it so far?
3. I tend to fairly well in tournaments until the blinds go up. Then I freeze, too scared to play aggressive and loose all my chips at once. I know I should be more aggressive if I want to be a succesful player. What kind of advice do you have for me? How can I learn to be aggressive? And what is the best time to be aggressive?
4. Before you started playing poker, did you ever meet Noah Boeken? If so, did you kick his ass? I can't find it anywhere on the net that you did, but you won tournaments and so did he so I'm guessing the 2 of you had to play against each other at least once.
5. Could I get one of those cool photo's of you like the one on your website or the one in Playboy magazine. And if possible sign it for Kaartkeizer (it's a Dutch nickname, ask Luske it will make him laugh).
Thanks.
Answer :
Actually I am not an internet player. I started playing live and have always preferred it. I have played a few tournaments online, and I play now on Bodog, but definitely 90% of my poker play logged is live. I like players who like to stick all their money in. I’ll just wait until I am pretty sure I have the best of it and get my money in there with them. If they beat my hand, “oh well”, that’s poker. All you can do is get your money in as the favorite.
The advice I was given in the WSOP, by Marcel Luske, wasn’t specific poker advice, it was more emotional support and confidence boosts. He would help me keep my head straight, and stay focused when times got hard.
The best time to be aggressive is when the other players at the table are not being aggressive. You want to play the opposite of how the table is playing. If they are mostly playing loose and crazy, you want to be tight and solid, and vice versa. Aggression is not something you can really teach, you just have to feel it, but the hard part is not being too aggro. Like anything else, it takes practice.
Me and Noah Boeken have been close friends for almost 10 years now. We both were top Magic players and hung out at all of the international tournaments. We played a few times and split the matches evenly.
Question : (From k06mars)
Being a poor college player I have to build my bankroll by winning freerolls and working off of those winnings. However, my style of play, which relies on my ability to pick out when to bluff against a half decent player doesn't quite work, being that at the micro limits and freerolls most players will call with virtually anything...despite a tight table image that I'll portray they'll call when I do bluff with their ace high, bottom pair, etc (then of course there's all the outdraws, flopped sets losing to inside straight draws despite heavy betting)...I'm an aggressive player who for the most part is able to get a good read on when a player is weak, and bet only when my table image is favorable for the situation - what am I doing wrong?
And, would you be willing to play me in a play money game lol (seriously tho?)...o yeh, let's make this fun for everyone here...could you possibly join one of our freerolls?
Answer :
You have to do what is known as 'pick your spot' well. That means you have to know when you can bluff and who you can bluff. In smaller buyin tournaments, it’s very hard to bluff successfully, it’s even like that in 10k buyin tournaments now. I’ve really taken bluffing out of my game in major tournaments lately, and because of it my results have improved tremendously. Don’t get me wrong, I do it every now and then, but only when I really feel it has a high chance of success.
Question : (From thebeerroom)
What is the one quality that makes you a professional poker and not just a semi pro?
Answer :
Someone is a professional at something if they make their living at it. Anyone who supports themselves solely from poker is a professional poker player.
Question : (From BSQUAD)
"Its the very first hand of the WSOP and your in the Big Blind and you look down to see Pocket Aces. Everyone folds except the Small Blind ( an obvious rookie ) who announces "ALL-IN"!! . The question is.. Do you call? and why or why not?"
Answer :
I call, no doubt about it. I think anyone who says otherwise flawed ideas about tournament poker. You have the best hand and are a huge favorite over any hand except the other two aces. You have to take chances to win a poker tournament, and you won’t get many better spots to double up. At some point you are going to have to get your money in when you are behind so might as well take advantage of a great spot to increase your chips so you can fade those times when you lose. If you win, you’ll be off to a great start and have a huge advantage over the other players and be able to accumulate more chips easier, and if you lose, at least you didn’t bubble and have the rest of your 2 weeks to be productive.
Question : (From jadie56)
Mr. Williams I am curious about how much intuition and feel is involved in poker at the highest levels. I am not talking about reading your opponent / opponents or the texture of the board, but true gut feel. Odds, math and reading your opponents certainly dominate the decision process.
My question is how often, if ever, have you called a bet that was not supported by pot or implied odds where you knew you were behind in the hand just because you felt like your card was coming. Maybe because you had been on a rush or for whatever the reason. If your answer was yes how often will make call like this?
How many other successful pros make calls like this? None? A very few? Quite a few? or Most?
I personally never do this but you run into a lot of players at the lower levels who do this routinely. I guess I just wonder if some successful pro players have some 6th sense such as this.
Answer :
I have never called a bet where I 'knew' I was behind and did not have the proper odds. I don’t feel anyone can know that their card is coming, and anyone who claims to, isn’t very serious about poker. I don’t know any other successful pros that do make calls like this, and the key word is successful. Making plays like this is the quick way to bust out of a tournament.
A Huge thank you to David Williams for taking the time to answer our questions :):)
You can comment on this interview in this thread.
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