And Now For Something Completely InterestingSteve Davis may have dropped off the top 16 snooker players in the world for 2008-2009, but with the World Series of Poker in sight, Carl Friedmann finds out that any progress in the Main Event is worth celebrating—especially after last year.
Steve Davis was difficult to pin down, but once we connected, regret of his elusiveness poured out. It really wasn’t any big deal to wait, but to him, it was worth sincere apologies. For us, it couldn’t have come together at a better time as he gears up to, once again, tackle the World Series of Poker Main Event with Team Ladbrokes. In fact, the first mention of the WSOP provokes a childlike “yippee!” from the six-time World Snooker champion. But even though he’s treating the trip to Las Vegas as a glorified holiday, he hopes that the months of preparation will see him through to a respectable finish. It’s a relative fresh take on competition for the 50-year-old Londoner, while he’s having a good chuckle with it, he still wants to make his mark.
So how are you gearing up for the Main Event? What kind of plans do you have in place?
My plan is to wear sunglasses. I’ve decided that like some racing horses, I need blinkers. I’m going full Phil Hellmuth style and covering up everything I can without being stupid. I’m going to try to do it subtly, but this does present a problem of all cards looking black and no red cards on the table, so I’m going to have to work on my shape recognition. That’s the policy because basically I believe I’m not a good enough liar. I think I’m going to go fully into tortoise mode. It’s my only hope after last year’s complete flop where I completely blew it. But this is my third year and I’m absolutely looking forward to it. I mean, the road that a poker player travels, if he’s an enthusiast, is that you never stop learning so if you ask a poker player to judge himself a year or two years ago, I’m sure he’ll say he knows more now than he did then. So I think I know more about how to go about it than before.
You did much better that first year didn’t you?
I got into the money. Basically I folded my way into the money. I was all in five times and the sixth one got me. But it really wasn’t anything other than clinging on with my fingertips so I was never in any danger of winning it. At one point, everyone at my table had about half a million in chips and I had about $40,000. Everyone was walking passed our table saying, “My my, what a lot of chips.” And then they’d look in my direction and I got bullied to pieces. So last year, I thought I try to play a little more adventurous and with a little bit more flair and I completely panicked and was out before the first tea break. I walked out of the room thinking I couldn’t play the game. I can fold—that’s the best part of my game.
So apart from going into tortoise mode, do you have a strategy this time around?
I read a lot. I just finished reading [John Stravinsky’s] “Read ‘Em and Weep” but I play Omaha, so it doesn’t really help me. I don’t play a lot of hold ‘em tournaments because I assume if the board pairs, I assume the other guy has a full house. It’s a bit of a failing as a hold ‘em player.
How many events are you going to play?
Just the [Main Event]. I’d love to play more but I can’t afford the time. But it’s nice to go out with all the Ladbrokes people and it’s a great team with the party at the VooDoo Lounge and the 10-pin bowling night—it’s a great camaraderie and they’re bringing 100 players. I feel delighted to be part of the team and it was nice to justify my existence the first year and certainly it would be nice to get in the money again.
Do you have any comments on the final table being postponed until November for maximum dramatic effect?
Well actually I think it’s a great idea. I know it’s getting a lot of criticism. But can you imagine the bubble for the final table? Can you imagine the excitement and build-up of waiting three months? It will give players a chance to get sponsorship deals but it will also give a chance for TV and press to do a really massive job in it. I know it disrupts the flow, but once people realises what happens as a result, those people are going to be shot to stardom in their own countries.
It’s a fine line between excitement and anxiety though.
Yeah. Brilliant. Bring it on. Let them suffer. A similar thing happened to me. The first time I played poker on TV, my introduction was as a celebrity on Poker Millions. I didn’t have a clue what the game was about besides basic rules and my heat had Bruno Fitoussi, Roy Brindley, Devilfish and the other guys were pretty decent as well. And I won the heat. So the heats were taped but the final was live and I had two and a half months to get ready. And some nights I really struggled to get to sleep, looking forward to playing a love event on television. This, of course, was the year that Jimmy White won it. It was hilarious because there were 36 players of which six were celebrities. The other 30 thought no celebrity would make it through and both Jimmy and I made it and he ended up winning.
Are you hosting any home games or ramping up your play in any way?
I played in the Poker Millions qualifier at Leyton Orient hosted by Barry Hearn. And I’ll play a couple of live events at the Vic or the Gutshot. Of course I play online all the time as well. But I play pot-limit Omaha cash games, so my hold ‘em skills suffer. There’s just a lot more folding in hold ‘em whereas there’s more stimulus in Omaha I think, so it would be nice to eventually play in those events in the WSOP. But my main focus is to improve on last year where I went all in with a pair of 10s and ran into aces. The feeling of walking out of the Amazon Room with your head spinning is something everyone should experience because it makes you a better player. But there’s nothing like walking out of the Main Event realizing you played like an idiot. It puts your feet right on the ground.
It must be incredibly motivating.
Yeah, it is. Well, the strong survive and then come back for more hopefully. That’s my motto.
So are you prepared to go back in November for the final table if you make it that far?
Oh yeah. It’ll be a joy to go back and I’d be willing to do all the interviews in the world if I make the final table—that would be marvellous.
But for the time being, you’ll be there a couple of weeks for the Main Event. Are you going to pick up the cue and play some good ‘ol American pool? [Davis was instrumental in forming—and winning in 1995 and 2002—the Mosconi Cup, a professional nine-ball international pool tournament based on the Ryder Cup.]
Funny enough, in the Ladbrokes room at the WSOP, we had a pool table and played a few games and knock the balls around. It was actually funny because Devilfish was in there for a while having a game for cash, but I kept away from nicking anyone’s money. It just didn’t seem fair to put on a cap and sunglasses and hustle. The guilt would be overbearing. I never gambled at pool or snooker so I don’t think I could do it. I don’t come from gambling stock. And I’m going with my girlfriend so it’s going to be more about going on holiday—spending more time at the pool and nice restaurants than trying to find a pool club. But some of the interviews in magazines say that Daniel Negreanu likes to play pool and at one time played quite seriously at one time. So if I bump into him, he’s certainly welcome to come to the Ladbrokes room and have a game if they want. |
