Fan Letters
In a previous issue, I put out a statement requesting that people write letters and send them in asking me some hard-hitting or relevant questions about my poker career and myself. Let’s see some questions that I select at random from the poker community out there! Alrighty then!
Jonas Robinns from Sweden writes:Hello, Jeff! Was just typing to say that I was wondering what you have been up to lately?! Thanks much.
Well, I’ve actually been up to a lot lately, thanks for asking! After the grueling month and a half of poker at the WSOP, and my deep Main Event run, I gladly spent August in Los Angeles playing online poker and some of the Legends of Poker events at the Bicycle. Congrats John Phan! His run shows that good players eventually get their due! This sick year for him was just a matter of time. Hopefully mine will come soon.
September 1st, I left for Europe for my second time ever, the fi rst being last year for the WSOP Europe in London. First stop was the Partouche Poker Tour in Cannes, France. The casino was right on the beach and it was a beautiful time, and a very sick tournament. A lot of soft spots to say the least. Next, I met up with my family in Italy for a 10-day bus tour around Rome, Venice, Florence, Milan, Bologna, and Torino. What a beautiful country. Truly incredible. My fi nal stop is here in London for this year’s WSOP Europe. I’m still here and awaiting the Main Event, which I plan on crushing. They’ll call me Annette_16.
Trent Mackey from Birmingham, Alabama writes:
Jeff, if you could give a couple important pieces of advice to an amateur player considering becoming a professional poker player, what would you say?
Good question, Trent. Well, a lot of the best advice I can give anyone regarding the big step into full-time poker has less to do with the game itself and more to do with the lifestyle. Poker isn’t easy, and is very swingy. You should understand that although poker may work out for various periods of time, you should always be building other skills and occupation opportunities that work well with poker or that you can turn to when poker becomes tough. Poker is great because it gives you the freedom to do many different things without having to adhere to a certain schedule. Once you are doing well in poker, you should always keep in mind that money management is everything and you shouldn’t allow success or failure to affect your poker game too much. Stay even keel.
Eric Silver from Los Angeles, California writes: Dude, you had such a sick run at the WSOP in 2006. What’s the deal, why are you not winning tournaments left and right? You made it look easy. FLUKE!Hmmm I appreciate the honesty, and I’ve heard this so much. One of the most diffi cult things to deal with in poker and life is such quick and early success. I really had no reason to expect such good things at the beginning of my career, and handling all that, often takes a mature person who’s dealt with a lot of the ups and downs. I was certainly mature, but had no clue what to expect! My results are getting better, and I am again working up to my full potential as a player… maturing as a professional. I am actually quite thankful that I’ve learned some important lessons about how to handle poker and all that comes with the game and the life. It's all a matter of time, my friend!
Jessica Alba from Hollywood, California writes: Jeff. Baby. Remember me? Jessica from the other night. Hi ; ). Just wondering… my question was, what do you think it is about you that makes girls want to strip you naked? I mean, would you say it’s that you get to play a game for a living and are very available, or that you know how to give incredible pleasure with just your little pinky finger? Or is it some of both? My friend Jessica Simpson and my other friend Scarlett Johansson seem to agree that it’s mostly the second one? What do you think baby? Call me ; )… I miss you!
Hey Jessica. Sorry I didn’t call you back. was… busy. Although I’d like to agree with you on those reasons, I really have to nod my head in modesty and say it’s neither. Really, I think it’s my integrity, my honesty, you know? I would never deceive or make something look like something it’s not. I’m a straight shooter. Meet me at my place, 45 minutes? I have to kick Keira Knightley out real quick.
Greg Bannister from Vancouver, Canada writes: I am just writing you, Jeff, as I wanted to hear about maybe some interesting stories you could tell me about the poker circuit! Well yes, there are many. Ahh, I recall one insaaane night I was hanging out with my buddies Layne Flack and Mike Matusow, we were on the freeway, and you’ll never believe what we -- Nah, nah, that one doesn’t sound interesting, any others?
Umm, wait, you are writing me a letter, how did you just interrupt me? Okay, well there was this other time… I was in a Jacuzzi, three other people were in there with me. It was 4am and you’ll never guess who walked in the back door right then… she was holding a pistol, shot it in the air, and said the craziest thing I’ve ever heard in my -- Booooooring. I’m gonna go write Erick Lindgren or somebody Coooooool. Laaaaater.
Those are just a few of the randomly selected letters I decided to cover. I got a lot of great ones and maybe in a future issue I will address others, but hopefully you will start to get a sense of the poker-playing lifestyle and how to manage it. It’s all about baby steps.
OK. Unbeknownst to my readers, this has actually been a test. In reality, I have been deceptive, as this has all been an exercise to see how sharp my bluffi ng skills are as of late! Five of these letters were actually fabricated, can you guess which fi ve? Please mail in your response with your name and hometown and you could win the grand prize! The grand prize will be disclosed next issue. Maybe. - Sincerely Yours, Jeff Madsen
