PokerSchoolOnline Live Tour

NewJane Interviews Runngunnin, top finisher at the USPC at the Taj 2006

Runngunnin: Well, the event that qualified me was $550 NL Holdem tournament at the USPC. The event was held at the world famous (rolls eyes) Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. It was a great event that utilized 5K in starting chips and 45 minute blinds. The tourney was just pricey enough to attract some top-level pros (Men "The Master" Nguyen, Minh Nguyen, Allen Kessler, and a couple of others) as well as some very tough local pros and amateurs. I have played in the USPC events over the past couple years and none of them ran as smoothly as this one did.

NewJane: Tell us some interesting facts about your life, such as place of employment, family matters, hobbies, or educational background.

Runngunnin: I am 27, married (sorry ladies, i.e. Jane:) and my wife and I are expecting our first son in early December. We live in Delaware and love the fact that we are close to all of the major east cities, especially AC. I work at Verizon as a System's Technician/Engineer. Great job that requires little work normally, but I have also been nominated (unwillingly) as the computer tech for Delaware because most of my co-workers are technologically illiterate (ironic that they work for one of the most advanced communications companies in the world). Anyway, I love my job and the freedom/benefits that it provides me.

My hobbies include playing basketball, football, tennis, and several other sports. Some of my other passions include history and travel, especially to Hawaii and the South Pacific. I have been to Hawaii a couple of times and have to say that I am pretty infatuated with the whole culture. My hope is to move there someday soon, but I can't convince my wife to do it. I am eyeing up a trip to Bora Bora this coming year, but with the arrival of our first son coming in December, that seems unlikely.

Educationally, I am as diverse as they come. After completing HS with a great GPA and SAT scores (perfect score on the math), I passed up on a full scholarship to Boston U. to stay at home and attend the University of Delaware. Although UD was a great school, it was also quite expensive and I did not have a full scholarship. I ended up dropping out because of financial difficulties and obtaining a job in the communications field. I spent a few years in various IT jobs finally landing a job at Verizon and they have been financing my educational desires ever since. I just completed dual Bachelor's Degrees in IT and American History and plan to pursue my Masters in each of these fields also.

NewJane: Give us a little glimpse into your poker background. How long have you played? Do you prefer online play or live? Where is your favorite place to play live? Do you like tournaments or ring games? What is your game of choice?

Runngunnin: As was most people's first experience with poker, mine was also driven by family. My grandfather was a great 7-stud player and made a good second living in the cash game arena. He showed me the ins and outs of playing coupled with allowing me to play in several games with him when I was about 18. I began playing Stud for money in AC when I turned 21 and was able to turn a profit at the game from very early on. Holdem is a different story though. I consider myself a pre-Moneymaker player and started playing prior to the online gaming boom. Holdem is the main reason I play at PSO. I am very confident with my ability to play games like Stud, Stud H/L, Razz, etc., but NL holdem is my weakest game by far and don't like being weak at anything that I enjoy.

I prefer to play live because of the large amount of info that can deciphered from a person in a live environment, but online is also fun and brings its own benefits to playing. I try to make it to AC at least once a month and when I do I prefer to play at The Trop. The Borgata is also very nice and although the Taj is outdated, there are some very lucrative Stud games there. I prefer cash games, but also enjoy tournaments.

Games I enjoy (in order): 7 Stud H/L, 7 Stud, Razz, NL Holdem….Limit Holdem

NewJane: How long have you been a member of PSO?

Runngunnin: I joined in October of 2005, so a little under a year now.

NewJane: What do you think was your greatest strength in the tourney? Your biggest weakness?

Runngunnin: My biggest strength was my patience coupled with some great reads. My biggest weakness was probably my uncanny ability to get unlucky when I had the money in the middle. I waited until good opportunities were available to mix it up. When I say good opportunities, I don't mean great hands, but a variety of hands that play well in multiplayer pots, big hands, and hands that I targeted weak opponents. My reads were also spot on for most of the tourney with a few minor exceptions. I have a great ability to get unlucky when the money is in the middle. AA cracked by J10 while all-in pre-flop, 3 sets that ran into flushes, blah blah blah….

NewJane: Do you remember any key hands you want to tell us about? Positive or Negative outcomes…

Runngunnin: As prelude to the key hands I will say that I had been playing tight aggressive, showing few hands down and having the goods when I did, and built my stack to about 15K, second largest on the table.

#1: About 2 hours into the tournament I went on a nice run of big starting hands. I had been bullying the table with pre-flop raises holding pocket pairs for the 3 hands previous to this hand. In this hand I held AKs UTG+1 and the blinds were at 100/200. I raised my standard 3X BB and it was folded around to the BB who thought for a few moments and moved all-in. This guy was a terrible player and ultra aggressive. His betting was erratic at best and he had moved all-in several times pre-flop with AJs, 44, 1010, AQ and then shown the cards when the other player folded/called. It was about 3500 for me to call and would take my stack down to about 11K if I had lost. Normally, I might fold here and look for a better spot, but I had a gut instinct that he was weak and combined with his past history I elected to call. It was one of the few times in the tourney that my read was dead wrong. He flips up AA. I flop and river a K to knock him out. AK taking down AA? This rarely happens to anyone, let alone me. The win puts me just under 20K.

#2: This hand takes place 2 hands after hand #1, while I was in the BB. Blinds still at 100/200 and there are 6 limpers (includes SB). I look down and see AA. I make it 2500 to go and immediately the UTG limper moves all-in. It is folded back to me and I make the call, flip up my AA and he proceeds to flip up J10c. I hit an A on the flop and he makes a 4 flush, turn is a blank, and the river gives him a club for the flush. It was ironic that he had almost the same stack size as the AA guy that I just knocked out. This hit puts me back down to 15K and our table is broken up shortly after.

#3: I am moved to a new table and go to work grinding out several moderate hands, building my stack to a little over 30K. Table is pretty tight and has a good mix of pros, tough amateurs, and 3 of the worst players I have ever seen. Naturally this hand I get involved with one of the bad players. Blinds at 200/400 and I am on the button, UTG limps, MP player limps, I limp with 55, SB who wasn't there folds, and the BB checks. Flop comes down 5c 9h Jc. BB checks, UTG bets 1000, MP folds and I raise his bet to 5000. He goes all-in after about 5 nanoseconds of deliberation. It is a little over 10K to win 22K. I was a million percent sure I had the best hand, so I called and he rolls over A9c, turn brings the Kc, and the river doesn't pair the board. I am knocked back down to 12K and my table is busted shortly after.

I dance about with my stack until an hour or so after the dinner break and I get knocked out when my 55 loses to a flopped flush.

NewJane: What are some of the differences you notice in online play as opposed to live play?

Runngunnin: People are fearless online. Repercussions of their actions can disappear with the ease of checking the block chat button. That's not to say that there aren't any fearless players live, but more that it takes a particular type of player to pull it off successfully live.

NewJane: If you could have dinner with any current poker tourney pro, who would it be and what would be the question you would ask first?

Runngunnin: Ted Forrest. Did you really think you could pull off the bench press bet?

NewJane: What poker books have helped your game?

Runngunnin: That is a long list. It really depends on what game you are focusing on, but to keep the list short I will say:

Harrington's Volume 1, 2, and 3
Doyle's Super System 2

Sklansky's Theory of Poker, Holdem Poker for Advanced Players,
and Tournament Poker for Advanced Players

Ray Zee's Seven Card Stud for Advanced Players
High Low Split Poker By Sklansky, Malmuth, and Zee
Caro's Book of Tells
Schoonmaker's The Psychology of Poker
Feeney's Inside the Poker Mind
Many, many more

NewJane: What new poker games are you interested in learning?

Runngunnin: Omaha and Omaha Hi/Lo. Omaha is killing my H.O.R.S.E game.

NewJane: Here is your chance to address anything I neglected to ask that you are dying to share.

Runngunnin: I don't want to be cliché, but I am going to thank PSO. They provide an abundance of knowledge, competitive play, and great teachers for a very fair price. My NL Holdem game has really blossomed since I have become a member here and that is exactly what I was looking for. My advice to PSO members is drink it all in and experience all that PSO and poker has to offer. Take the trip to the convention, play at the Live Tour Events, meet your fellow players, and enjoy yourself along the way. Thanks for the interview Jane (luckily that's all my wife thinks this was).

NewJane: Thanks for taking time to visit with me! Congratulations on that new baby boy in December, and best of luck in the Live Tour Grand Finale next year!

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