NewJane: First, let me congratulate you on your fine finish at Foxwoods. You will be advancing to the PSO Live Tour Final tourney in January. Tell me a little about the tourney that qualified you.

PennPenn: It was a $565 No Limit Hold'em event at Foxwoods during the New England Poker Classic. I finished 11th out of a field of 491.

NewJane: Tell us a little about yourself. Where you live, etc. Any interesting facts about your life would be appreciated!

PennPenn: I live in Fort Lee, New Jersey, which is just minutes from New York City. After finishing college, I went to law school in Manhattan, graduated and passed the bar. But I wasn't ready to pursue a legal career just yet, and instead followed another interest I've always had, horse racing. I took a job at the racetrack about 6 years ago which is where I am right now, running the television department.

NewJane: Share with us some of your poker background, such as how long you have played, games of choice, limits you like when you play live, other tourney successes. Also, anything else about your poker background that you want to share.

PennPenn: I learned to play poker when I was a kid and have played off and on for probably 20 years, but never on a regular basis until the last two years. In my early 20's, I'd always take trips to Atlantic City and venture into the poker rooms when the Blackjack tables lost their appeal, but it was always just to waste some time at a 7 card stud game and often that was the only game to be found. My stud game stinks so I've focused more of my attention on hold'em in recent years, and of course, now, that's about all you'll find in many poker rooms. I've had some success in smaller tournaments in Atlantic City at the Trop and in Vegas at the Orleans, but haven't really played any big buy-in tourneys yet.

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

PennPenn: I've been a member for about a year and a half, joining in September of 2002.

NewJane: Where is your favorite place to play poker, both live and tourney action?

PennPenn: I think the poker room at the Borgata in Atlantic City is great. It's new, it's nice. Everything about that hotel is nice. It definitely stands out from the rest of the A.C. properties.

NewJane: What were some hands you remember from the tourney, both won and lost?

PennPenn: I had a lot of memorable hands in the 15 or so hours of play. I won a big pot by calling a raise with AK, catching a king on the flop, and just letting my opponent do all the betting while I called him down [he had K9].

I lost a big pot calling an all-in re-raise with pocket 9's. I knew it was a bad call, but I had some good fortune with that hand early in the tourney, I had some extra chips to play with and I thought my opponent was making a move [which he was I guess with KQ], but a flop full of face cards wasn't a good sight.

I won maybe my biggest hand of the tourney when we were down to about 6 tables. I had far and away the most chips at the table [50k with average stack of around 20k]. I limped with Qs Js and all folded to bb who had maybe the 3rd biggest stack at the table and raised 5x the bb. I called because I could afford to gamble and could hardly contain my excitement with a flop of 2s 3s 9s. When my opponent moved all in, it was an easy call and a tough break for his pocket kings, but that really gave me a huge stack for the next couple of hours.

NewJane: What did you feel was your strength / weakness in the tournament?

PennPenn: I think my biggest strength was putting pressure on my opponents once I was able to accumulate some chips. I was able to buy some pots and move some smaller stacks off some good hands.

I think my biggest weakness was losing some aggressiveness towards the end of the tourney. I had built up a big stack and I became too focused on not making a mistake, instead of continuing to pressure the smaller stacks and playing aggressively.

NewJane: If you could play one hand over, which one would it be and why?

PennPenn: Well, I guess the last hand that busted me out. I don't think it was a terrible play, but obviously the results were unfavorable. I had just lost a hand to a short stack that doubled up and I found my self on the short stack with around 38k at our 6-handed table. Blinds of 2000-4000, ante 500, UTG raised to 12k, I moved all in with pocket sixes. Button picked up AK, called and flopped some kings to win the hand. Who knows, with a lay down there, I might have found something better to make a move with later on.

NewJane: What are your feelings about what is going on with poker now, the incredible growth? Do you see it as a positive thing?

PennPenn: There is no doubt the tremendous interest and growth in poker is a positive thing. Card rooms and tournaments are overflowing with players, how can this not be a good thing? Bigger payouts, more game selection, more round-the-clock action, I really don't see a negative. Sure, there are many more inexperienced players, but I don't see why that should bother anyone. Good players that can adapt and adjust to their surroundings should thrive more than ever.

NewJane: What new poker game, if any, are you anxious to learn?

PennPenn: None.

NewJane: What poker books might I find in your home library?

PennPenn: I really don't have any poker books in my library. I've read through many in bookstores, but never actually took any home. I did recently finish reading a pair of novels: Anthony Holden's Big Deal and James McManus' Positively Fifth Street. I took 3 trips to Vegas last year and needed some reading material for the plane rides. Both were good, I enjoyed Big Deal more.

NewJane: Anything I didn't ask you that you want to say, now is the time!

PennPenn: Having spent almost 15 years playing the ponies at the racetrack has really given me a good perspective on poker. There are a lot of similarities between playing the races and playing poker. The best part of both games of course is that it's you against the rest of the players, with the house just taking a piece of the action, not playing against you. Both games require analyzing hundreds of different situations based on information, experience and bankroll. And with enough experience, certain situations tend to repeat themselves. And of course, when you've suffered some brutal beats on the racetrack, it helps get you used to the inevitable bad beats on the poker table.

NewJane: Thanks, PennPenn, and again, congratulations on your fine finish, and good luck in January at the PSO Live Tour playoff tournament.