When I was 7, my dad asked his friend to teach me. I played my first tournament competition when I was 8. I remember I shot around 125.
Look, I never enjoy risking my tournament life with a marginal hand, but if you want to be a poker champion, that's exactly what needs to be done. Just don't do it too often!
During a tournament, I'm not thinking about mechanics at all. I'm in scoring mode.
Every tournament I play in I fancy my chances of winning, so hopefully I can get through the first few rounds, find a bit of form and kick on.
Well, we've made huge strides since the 1990 World Cup, USA '94, and obviously since '98. Unfortunately, those strides only register with the public once every four years.
Now I'm giving up a little in the week-to-week tournaments but reaping the benefits in the majors.
Nobody can really dominate like Stephen Hendry or Steve Davis. The players are just too good for that.
You cannot expect teams to be up for a final every Saturday, but you have to in the Six Nations, and that is the difficulty we have.
Very few players want to go home wondering if they've folded the best hand. They feel humiliated when they're bluffed out of a pot. As a result, these players make calls with marginal hands that put their entire tournament at risk.
I've started to show the consistency in majors I had in regular tournaments back in 1998-2000 when I was contending nearly every week.
I play to win. And if I string together four of my best rounds at the Masters then there's no doubt about it - I will wear the jacket.
I have been on TV quite a few times as a poker player.
Snooker has just been a British-based sport for such a long time and when I started at 18 the furthest you'd go would be London.
I'm a tournament guy; that's what I grew up doing.
Every time I'm practicing, playing or prepping, Majors are always going to be the ones everybody wants to win. But putting the urgency or too much pressure on yourself is not going to do any favors.
Whatever game suits you best, learn to play both Limit and No Limit Texas Hold'em. Your overall game will definitely improve.
I like the first-person games, but I like the two-person element in terms of playing basketball games with my friends. That's a good time; we have tournaments and things.
To play in the men's tournaments I have to keep getting stronger and get more distance.
Half the variations which are calculated in a tournament game turn out to be completely superfluous. Unfortunately, no one knows in advance which half
Every time you tee off as a professional golfer, whether people say it or not, your first prerogative is to make the cut. You can't win if you don't make the cut.
Trust me when I tell you that Andy Roddick has the game to win a major poker tournament. I've played Hold 'em with him several times and he consistently demonstrates the kind of playing style and competitive drive that gives him a legitimate chance to win.
With pro-gaming that's one of the toughest parts - living game to game.
You cannot underestimate any team that has qualified for a semi-final.
Every tournament I go to, I'm kind of learning a little bit mentally and on the course.
In Georgia it's a little different because of the East Cobb program. It's such a strong program that we see a lot of kids that come through here on a lot of different teams from across the country that come here to play in tournaments.
