14-time World Series of Poker gold bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth answered questions on reddit.com over the weekend. It was a so-called ASK ME ANYTHING (AMA) interview, which made it possible for anyone to ask him anything under the sun. Here are the highlights...
nuttypoolog: What's the future for online poker in the US? Should there be one?
Legalized online poker is coming; 100%! It is simply a question of when...Amazingly, one person has stopped legalized online poker: one person! Mr Sheldon Adelson: and he spends $100 million every year funding politicians...However, David Baazov (poker big hope) is fighting hard, and effectively, for legalization. I'm hoping for full legalization in California, and then many of us, and the experts, believe it will spread accross the USA
dnegs: Your career has stretched through the rise and fall of poker's popularity, particularly in the United States. What do you think needs to be done to ignite another "Moneymaker Effect"-style boom of poker interest?
A bigger BOOM is coming when the USA legalizes online poker again! We have witnessed this in Italy, France, and Russia when online poker was actually legalized, and the operators were shocked because they had 10 times as many people play (10X) than was expected. Ditto in the USA: coming soon...
davidnik: How has the game changed for the better and for the worse since online play has become less prominent? (We played together in Event 3 of the 2009 series, PLOH. Thanks for doing this.)
Great question! Sadly, the poker world in the USA has shrank a bit (not too much). With entries down at the WSOP from the good old days, a lot less television (I miss Poker After Dark), and less sponorship deals for US players. However, the rest of the world has seen a lot less shrinkage.
ferdonjackson: How in the the hell do you deal with those beats where you are 90%+ with just the river left and wind up getting busted...well besides the obligatory bitching and moaning?
Obviously I whine too much because I'm the Poker Brat! But I try really hard to NOT let any bad luck I have at the tables affect me away from the tables. I have gotten better and better at this over the years, but I'm sure my wife will tell you i was bad at this in my twenties and thirties. I don't want that stuff to impact my relations w my friends and family in a negative way...
jaimestaples: Jaime Staples here. Can you talk a bit about your experience with Twitch. What do you think about the world of poker broadcasting? Are those two going to interact much or be different things entirely?
LOVE Twitch, and you'll be on a panel with me Friday at TwitchCon Jaime; will be fun! I just won $43,400 in my neighborhood (if you follow me on Twitter you know I've lost over $200,000 in the game in the last 6 weeks, BUT if I could Twitch that game, there would 100,000 people watching it! Craziness! Poker broadcasting has a huge future, and I'll be live Tuesday at noon EST here playing Pineapple OFC: Twitch.com/philhellmuth
SketchyBob: Is it true you started playing poker (and winning) against your college professors?
Yes, I did play against two professors at the Univ of Wisconsin way back in 1984! In that game, we also had Psychiatrists, lawyers, and doctors. None of them were under the age of 40, and I was 20. Each was a professional w multiple degrees, I was an undergrad. But i'm pretty good at this thing we call "Poker"
Jaspa7732: Hey Phil! Where is your favorite place outside of Vegas to play poker?
My home game in the Bay Area. Filled w the "Masters of the universe," I love these guys and they have become my best friends. Other than that, the LA poker scene is vibrant...
Shitty_Cunt_Bagel: What is Dwan up to these days? Information seems to be limited.
Dwan is still crushing playing NLHold'em, but in Macao. Those games are really really huge (sometimes $4000 -$8,000 blinds) and Ivey is doing well too. I cant imagine Ivey skipped the WSOP (World Series Of Poker) for the games in Macao, if those games weren't special!
source: reddit.com
