NewJane: Congratulations on your excellent finish at the Live Tour event! Tell us about the event that qualified you for the Live Tour Final tourney next year.

j0hngalt: I qualified for the Live Tour Final by making the final table in the Spring Big One. The final table got to play in a play off tourney and the final 4 of that got invites to the live event.

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

j0hngalt: I'm married and my wife, Deanna plays on PSO also. Her name online is LittleFlower and she is a great player and always getting better.

Besides from playing poker I am an avid Guitar player. I love playing all kinds of music but grew up a rock kid. But I have played a ton of jazz and classical also.

I have degrees in English, Music theory and Guitar performance.

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?

j0hngalt: I have been playing poker now for about a year and a half. But I have been seriously playing for about a year. I found PSO and was immediately addicted.

My wife and I play in a weekly home game. It isn't like playing at PSO. It's all over the place. Other than that I play mostly on line and only at PSO.

My favorite place to play so far is at themills home game. Can't beat the competition there with a great bunch of people.

I pretty much only play tournaments. I find ring games boring for the most part.

Well my best game is by far No Limit Holdem. I also love playing Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, Stud Hi/Lo and Razz.

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

j0hngalt: I joined PSO at the end of June last year.

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

j0hngalt: Well, I think the biggest strength I had during this tourney was the read I had on the rest of the table. I have played with most of the players a great deal. The ones I haven't played with I focused on how they were playing. I got a pretty good idea of what I needed to do against them. I was pretty card dead most of the tourney so I guess my patience and the hands I chose to play and when were another big advantage.

Well because of the awesome players in this play off my biggest weakness was that I probably tightened up too much. There were a couple of hands I normally play in a regular tourney that I passed up in this. Most of these were out of the blinds. I let a lot of these go because I didn't want to take the chance to waste the chips.

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

j0hngalt: Well I had some that went both ways.

I pulled off a nice bluff against Zipman about midway through the tourney. I think he had sniffed it out but I fired 3 shots on it and he wasn't sure enough to call me down.

I got overly aggressive against rowebote about 3/4s of the way through the tourney. I was trying to steal his blinds with Q J o and he re-raised me from the Big Blind. I tried to scare him out with a re raise but he pushed in after that. I obviously had to let it go but it did suck about half of my chips away.

Nine hands later was the crucial hand I played in the tourney against Clay Knight. I raised him when he was in the big blind from the small blind with A-T offsuit. He called and the flop came 9-9-2. I bet and he pushed in. It was a big decision to call but from how I saw him play his all in there didn't make any sense and I smelled a steal so I called and when his K Q did not improve I won the hand.

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

j0hngalt: I don't have enough live play experience to know. I do know you can pick a lot of things up through people's emotions at the table.

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?

j0hngalt: Wow that's a tough one. Probably Daniel Negreanu. I think he is probably the best player on the holdem tourney scene right now. Other than that it would be an old schooler like Doyle. I did however just read the Amarillo Slim book and that guy was very interesting.

NewJane: What poker books have helped your game?

j0hngalt: Well the first major book I read that got me going was the first Super System. I read that and I immediately became a consistent winner in my home game.

After that I read Sklansky and liked it but it was difficult to really get a grasp of it but it got me into a tournament poker frame of mind.

I then read the Cloutier/McEvoy books and the made things a little more clear.

But the best by far is the Dan Harrington book. That is a great book for tournaments. I can't wait for the next installment to come out.

I'd have to say though that the one thing that has pushed my game further than any book was thehazyone mentor program. I really learned a lot in that and my game is completely different then it was 6 months ago.

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

j0hngalt: Well I'm pretty good with the games I play now. I think I'd much rather just spend more time playing the games I already do and keep refining my skills in them.

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

j0hngalt: I'd just like to thank my wife Deanna for allowing me the time I take to play poker online. She is a great support to me.

Also I'd like to give a shout out to Marshfield and Chocolat2222. Two great players and friends. Plus the O Crew, you know who you are.

And I can't wait for the convention J

NewJane: Thanks for talking with me today, and good luck to you at the Grand Final!!