An Interview With Beth Shak - Part II

By Justin West

Beth Shak is a rising star in the world of poker, having on two occasions come within a hair's breath of earning a World Series of Poker bracelet. "Nothing left now but to win one," she says.

But aside from just presenting a strong case and image for women in poker, and being quite the successful player herself with a newfound sponsorship by Full Tilt, Beth is also quite the philanthropist, which she discusses in this, part two of a three-part interview.

Justin: You once said in an interview: "I have zero poker strategy. I just go into a poker zone, and I play." Is that still the case?

Beth: Do I have strategy when I play single tables? Absolutely. That's when I start looking around at the chip stacks, thinking, "Okay, I'm going to let those two battle." It's different. But, when I'm playing in tournaments with 500, 600, 1,000 more people, I really go into it and I play by my gut instincts.

My gut, I have to tell you, is usually right. It doesn't mean that my hand is going to hold up. That's the element of luck. But when I push my chips in, I have to tell you that nine times out of ten, I'm right.

So I do. I really do go into a zone. I play with my gut, and then I'm going to leave everything else up to fate, whether I still belong in the tournament. If not, I have a really good attitude. I'm a lucky woman. I have a really great life and if I lose a tournament, I lose and I leave there smiling as I go on to the next tournament.

Justin: I wanted to ask you about your dog...

Beth: Oh! I have a little Yorkshire Terrier. Her name is Sabine. I bought her when we were in Paris playing at the Aviation Club. I saw a stunning woman walking down one of the banks in Paris, and I asked her where she got the Yorkie. She spoke fluent English, gave me the name of the breeder, and I took my husband an hour outside of Paris into the country and he sold me the dog. I named her after the manager of the Aviation Club in Paris. That's who she's named after.

When I play poker I put a little Yorkie on my chips and I always have her looking at me. I'm in love with my dog! My older son's laughing at me right now.

She's my good luck charm. When I go out to the World Series of Poker, she comes out. I would not leave for six weeks without her.

Justin: So you seem like you genuinely enjoy the spotlight. That's in stark contrast to a lot of pros who seem to shy away from it.

Beth: I guess it's interesting. I'm nice to everybody. I would be that way whether I was delivering mail or whether I became the number one female poker player, just because of the fact that I have this belief that you should treat people the way that you want to be treated.

I believe in karma. There's some people online that make derogatory comments, are just outright mean. I'm just thinking, "be nice." I just think if you don't have something nice to say you really shouldn't say it.

Justin: Do you think that online players that make the transition into live play have a lack of table etiquette?

Beth: I think it's hard for a lot of people, that there are a lot of things to learn. Yes I think, again, each tournament, the more you play, the more you learn, the more you don't make mistakes. So it could be harder to go from online to live.

Justin: I wanted to ask you about the CDFA black tie charity event you recently attended...

Beth: It was for AIDS. I had a fabulous time. There were great designers, Bette Midler was there. It was just a really neat charity where all these different designers donated items. If something was $500 they sold it for $50, and you walk around and you shop and all the money goes to AIDS charity. It was a really fun, nice evening, with interesting people and for a good cause.

Justin: It seems like you're using your rising status in the industry to promote charitable causes. You mentioned earlier, that you're trying to organize a charity tournament for the Children's Hospital in Philadelphia?

Beth: If it comes to fruition... I hope. I'm working with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia right now trying to put something together in New York. If this does come to life, the winner of the tournament is going to get their name on a building in Children's Hospital. It's going to be amazing!

Dan and I really, really believe in charity. We just both believe in giving back. It's a philosophy that we've been trying to instill in our children. We're involved with things, we give money, it's just how we believe.

Justin: What about folks like me that want to help but can't necessarily afford to put in that kind of contribution?

Beth: I think anybody can give on any level. If someone's making $300 a week and they make a $30 donation, that's great. I don't think it has to be a "substantial" donation. I'm trying to instill that in my children, now. Once a month I take them to a local hospital and we give out challahs to the people that are sick. It's just about giving back to society, and about being a good person.

part I | part II | part III

More Interviews

Justin West played poker since the age of 17, he spent more than a year earning a living on the green felt; a modest living, to be sure, but a living nonetheless. His aim was at one point to win the WSOP main event, thus causing Hell to freeze over. However, given his penchant for sin and his extreme dislike of cold weather, Justin has put that dream to rest.